Our Staff

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The following individuals dedicated their time to ensure the objectives of the programme were effectively and efficiently realised during the implementation period.

PFMU                                                                                                                       

Zelalem Temesgen 
Programme Manager

Zelalem Temesgen received his B.Sc. in Forest Management from the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in 1990. Zelalem started working with Tigray Region Agriculture Office in 1984 as community forestry junior expert. Following that he joined the Munesa-Shashemene State Forestry Project as forestry expert in 1988. In 1993 he became Department Head of Jimma Zone Natural Resources Conservation and Development. Zelalem served the Oromia Agriculture Development Bureau from 1995 - 1999 as Department Head of Forestry and Wildlife Conservation Department. In 1999 Zelalem joined FARM-Africa as Joint Forest Management Liaison Officer and became the Programme Manager of FARM-Africa/SOS Sahel PFMP in 2003. 

Benedict Irwin
Technical Manager

Ben Irwin’s professional career commenced in 1989 as a director/ partner of a landscape and conservation contracting business in the UK. He began working overseas with Birdlife International in North-West Cameroon in 1994-6, on the Kilum Mountain Forest Project. After this he carried out research work and taught at the College of Dryland Agriculture in Mekelle, Tigray Region in Northern Ethiopia (1997-8). In 1999, Ben took up a post with SOS Sahel International (UK), as Manager of the Borana Collaborative Forest Management Project, Southern Ethiopia. In 2003 he transferred to the position of Technical Manger of the FARM Africa / SOS Sahel Participatory Forest Management Programme.

Ben holds a BTEC HND in Rural Resources and their Management (Seale-Hayne Agricultural College 1986-89) and an MSc. in Environmental Tropical Forestry (University of Wales Bangor, School of Agriculture and Forest Sciences 1996-7).

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Bonga, Ethiopia

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Mesfin Tekle 
Team Leader

Mesfin started his career in 1990 as a rangeland irrigation expert working with the Northeast Livestock Development project in Afar, Ethiopia. In 1991 he joined the Southwest Rural Development and Infrastructure Office as an irrigation expert. He became team leader of the Kefa zone Soil and Water Conservation and Agroforestry team in 1993 and was then transferred to the Agriculture and Natural Resource Management Department in 1995. In 1998 he started working as head of the Kafa Zone Agriculture and Natural Resource Department in Bonga until he joined FARM-Africa in 2001 as team leader of the Bonga Participatory Forest Management and Reproductive Health project. 

Mesfin has a B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from Alamaya Agriculture University, Ethiopia and an MSc. in Forestry Extension from the University of Reading, UK. 

Ziyenu Lemma
Deputy Team Leader

Ziyenu Lemma received his B.Sc in Forestry from Wondo Genet College in 1994. Since then he has been working with the government, NGOs and community groups to develop and implement feasible forest conservation strategies and organise and empower Community Based Organisations in Forest Resource Management. He began his career working for the Regional Government of Oromia, as a team leader in the Forest Conservation and Development Section of the Regional Forest Priority Area in Bale zone. In 1997, Ziyenu joined the Integrated Forest Management Project of GTZ in Adaba-Dodola as a Social Forestry Expert in the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the project. As of 2001 Ziyenu has been working with FARM-Africa’s Bonga Participatory Forest Management and Reproductive Health Project initially as PFM Officer and currently as Deputy Team Leader.

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Borana, Ethiopia

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Doyo Hargessa 
Team Leader

Doyo Hargessa obtained his BA degree in Sociology and Social Administration from the Addis Ababa University. He started his career as a Programme Manager in the Dhadim Catholic Mission in 1999. He joined SOS Sahel at the end of 1999 as Assistant Social Advisor and worked until 2001, when he joined Care International/Ethiopia in Borena Area Development Project as Extension Supervisor. He rejoined SOS Sahel Ethiopia in 2004 and has been initially working as Social Systems and Civil Society Development Advisor. He became Team Leader of the project in December 2005.

Gudiesso Ejigu
Participatory Forest Management Advisor

Gudiesso began his career as Agro-Ecology Expert in Benishangul Gumuz Bureau of Agriculture in 1995. After working for a year he became Forestry Expert in the same bureau until 1999. In 2000 Gudiesso joined the UNHCR project in Benishanul Gumuz as Project Officer and served there for a year until he joined the Benisahngul Gumuz Population and Economic Development in 2002. He has been working as a Team Leader until 2005 when he joined the SOS Sahel Borana Collaborative Forest Management Programme phase II as PFM advisor.

Gudiesso has a B.Sc. in Forestry from Alemaya University (1995) and M.Sc from Wondo Genet College (2004). 

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Chilimo, Ethiopia

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Olani Edessa 
Team leader

Olani’s career began in 1983 when he started serving the Ministry of Agriculture at various positions at Woreda, Awraja and regional levels. In 1999 Olani joined “Menschen für Menschen” Foundation, an international NGO as a Project Manager in Illubabor, Oromiya Regional State. Olani joined FARM-Africa in 2001 as Team Leader for the Chilimo Participatory Forest Management Project. Olani has had the opportunity to attend various national workshops and international tours and seminars which have helped him enhance his technical knowledge of Forest Management. 

Olani has a B.Sc. in Forest Management from Uppsala University, Sweden 1989.


Ephrem Lemu
Community development officer

Ephrem has been working with FARM-Africa since 2003 in the position of Community Development Officer at Chilimo Participatory Forest Management Project.

Before joining FARM-Africa, Ehprem has worked in different governmental and non-governmental organisations at various levels. He has worked with the Ministry of Agriculture from 1978-1986 in the previous Kefa Regional Administration (Awraja Cooperative Promotion Head, Awraja Development Team Leader and Awraja Head); from 1994 - 2003 Ehprem worked for CPAR- Ethiopia & GTZ in the field office of Jarso Project (North Shoa zone of Oromia Region) in the positions of Agricultural Coordinator and Project Coordinator.

Ephrem has a diploma in General Agriculture from Jimma Agriculture College (1983) and M.Sc. in Tropical and Sub-Tropical Agriculture, from Plovdiv Higher Agricultural Institute, Bulgaria (1992).

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Nou, Tanzania

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Alfei Daniel
Team Leader

Alfei started his career as the Associate Program Coordinator with World Vision, Tanzania. He then became the Secretariat Coordinator with Japanese international Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the SUA Centre for Sustainable Rural Development. Alfei joined FARM-Africa in 2004. Currently he is working as the Project Team Leader responsible for Coordination and Implementation of Project Activities.

Alfei has B.Sc in Agriculture General from Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania (2002) and M.Sc in Natural Resources from University of Greenwich, UK (2004). 

Masota Abel Malyango.
Participatory Forest Management Advisor 

Masota worked for Kilombero Valley Teak Company Ltd on Plantation Forestry Management. He later joined the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) in facilitating the establishment of PFM processes in forest reserves of Pugu and Kazimzumbwi. Masota joined FARM-Africa in 2004 as PFM Advisor working in the Nou forest. 

Masota has B.Sc. in Forestry from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania (1994).

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