Parick is both and agronomist and an agro-economist with a Bsc. in agronomy and a Master of Philosophy in agricultural economics and management. He has a broad and practical experience in rural and agriculture finance for enhanced productivity of smallholder for smallholder farmers. He has identified and supported producers to access relevant technological innovations necessary for development of cereals, horticulture, dairy and livestock value chains; supported the development and financing of innovative agricultural value chain development models that ensured producers’ access to output markets, financial services, production and post-harvest technologies; prepared smallholder programs from identification of produces to mobilization of technical expertise to support program implementation. Mr. Nekesa has been key in supporting women and youth enter into productive agriculture. He has experience in irrigated agriculture through conducting baseline studies for irrigated agricultural production and formation of water user associations. He also developed IPM practices for horticultural crops under irrigation and provided training and support to farmer organizations. Mr. Nekesa
also provided the production planning for 600 farmers on an 800 hectare irrigated area. He has provided technical leadership for various programs in agriculture production and marketing through value chain development and financing; and for many years he has identified and engaged value chain actors relevant for smallholder market oriented agricultural development, including financial institutions, SMES (aggregators, processors, exporter), inputs suppliers, regulators, and land development services providers. He has been instrumental in identification and registration of ultra-poor women and youths who qualify for the Government of Kenya’s social protection and safety net; and in consultation with stakeholders, assembled social protection and safety net packages for the ultra-poor women and youths. He has worked for many international agencies including IFAD, World Bank, EU, and others. Most recently he led an 11-member team to conduct a review of the agronomy and performance of ten SMEs in Kenya. Mr. Nekesa holds a Master of Philosophy in Agroeconomic and Management and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Moi University and University of Nairobi respectively. Mr. Nekesa
communicates fluently in English and Kiswahili.