Julius Manda is an Agricultural Economist for the Africa RISING East and Southern Africa (ESA) project. He obtained his BSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Zambia, an MSc in Development Economics and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands. He joined IITA in 2012 as an Associate Professional Officer-Agricultural Economist in Lilongwe, Malawi. Prior to joining IITA, he was a Senior Planner in the Ministry of Health in Zambia from 2009 to 2012. He was a Senior Agricultural Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives from 2007 to 2009. His research interests covers a wide range of issues including adoption and impacts of new agricultural technologies on smallholder farmer’s welfare, value chain analysis, agriculture market integration, nutrition and economic analysis of sustainable intensification practices.