Martin E. Mason

Deputy Chief of Party/Value Chain Specialist, Tanzania Staples Value Chain (NAFAKA)

Martin E. Mason, an agribusiness expert with 30 years of experience, is currently working with ACDI/VOCA as Deputy Chief of Party and Value Chain Specialist on the Tanzania Staples Value Chain (NAFAKA) program. He is applying his expertise in this program to assist the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture in analyzing local value chains. He will launch a comprehensive food security program, helping farmers to grow and sell more, thereby spurring economic growth and reducing poverty and hunger in the region. Mason has also worked in Mozambique, Georgia, Ukraine, Angola, Moldova, China, India, Russia, Thailand, Honduras, Brazil and the United States. In Ukraine he worked with ACDI/VOCA developing a system that produced superior-quality exports that resulted in much higher profits. In Mozambique, Mason spent the past six years managing programs and leading business development initiatives to help farmers improve the production, marketing and processing of local crops. For 17 years, Mason owned and operated a 700-acre farm called Fazenda Sol in Petrolina, Brazil, providing a variety of produce to international markets. Mason received his Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from the University of California. He is a native speaker of English with working knowledge of Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.