Easther Chigumira Zimbabwe 2013 grantee US-Canada Program PhD in Geography from the University of Oregon in USA MSc in Geography from Rhodes University, South Africa BA (Honors) in Geography from Rhodes University, South Africa Fulbright Scholar
Easther holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Oregon (USA) and an MSc and BA (Honors) in Geography from Rhodes University (South Africa). She was a Fulbright Scholar and recipient of the MMEG award.
Prior to joining the World Bank, first as a Short-term Consultant, Easther worked as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Zimbabwe. She also worked as a consultant for several multilateral agencies and non- governmental organizations such as the UNDP, WFP, DANIDA, SIDA and CIAT, and has extensive experience in both research and development work as a researcher and consultant on land reform, climate change, resilience building, and agriculture and food system issues.
Easther enjoys working in areas where she can meaningfully advance development policy and planning. She is also committed to influencing programmatic interventions that can change lives and empower communities. Together with a team of three experts, Easther contributed two chapters to the UNDP 2017 Zimbabwe Human Development Report: Climate Change and Food Security and Climate Change and Livelihoods. This report has helped shape policy dialogue and programmatic approaches along the climate agenda. In collaboration with the University of Cape Town’s Africa Centre for Cities. Easther successfully coordinated the ESRC/DFID-funded project “Governing Food Systems in Africa’s Secondary Cities” for Zimbabwe. The project provided contextual information and evidence that informed the United Nations’ World Food Program urban food assistance pilot in Epworth, Zimbabwe, which has now been scaled-up to other urban areas across the country.
Easther’s current interests are centered on women’s empowerment and young people in agricultural commercialization.
