Dr Victor Manyong is an Agricultural Economist working as the Emeritus Director for IITA and based at the regional office in Dar es Salaam/Tanzania. Until December 2020, he was the director for Eastern Africa and the IITA Leader for the Social Science Research Group at the institute. He has about 30 years of experience at IITA working in various research fields including adoption and impact studies, production and market economics, livelihood and policy studies, and youth programs. He has held many managerial positions as a program leader, officer-in-charge, country representative, and regional director at IITA. He obtained his MSc in Agricultural Economics in 1981 and PhD in the same discipline in 1986, both from the Universite Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Prior to joining IITA, he worked for international NGOs, the private sector and the Ministry of Agriculture in DRC. He is fluent in both English and French and in many native languages of DRC. He has a track record of over 300 publications in the form of peer-reviewed journal articles, books, book chapters, conference proceedings, newsletters, working papers, monographs and he made presentations at several professional meetings. He has contributed significantly to capacity building of groups and individuals in agriculture-related subjects.
Contacts: E-mail: v.manyong@cgiar.org; Phone (WhatsApp) : +255 786731553 ; +243 812226000
Education
Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, PhD in agricultural economics, 1986,
Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, MSc in agricultural economics, 1981,
Institut Facultaire Agronomique de Yangambi, DRC : BSc in agricultural economics, 1978
Nationality
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Languages
Very fluent in both English and French; Fluent in Swahili and in many Congolese national languages
Publications
He has a track record of 200+ scientific publications. Many of them were published in high rated socioeconomic journals. See selected publications below.
Management positions
Emeritus Director, IITA, 2024-
Director, IITA Eastern Africa Regional Hub, 2009-2020,
IITA thematic director for Social Science and Agribusiness: 1997-2020 Country Representative for Tanzania, 2006-2020
Director, GENAGRO, DRC (then Zaire): 1986-1989
Capacity building
Trained more than 30 postgraduate students, some of them are working in international organizations and universities in Africa. Trained national partners in the areas of socioeconomics, modelling, econometrics, adoption and impact studies. He also organized outreach activities to train farmers and farmers’ groups and extension agents.
Awards
2020: IITA’s Board of Trustees Award for Outstanding Publication in 2019 for the work on measuring of poverty from investments in agricultural research at IITA
2019 IITA’s Annual Board Award for Excellent Results in the category of Outstanding Team2018: American Journal of Agricultural Economics: leading article Issue 101, 2018
1986: Outstanding PhD thesis in the department of agricultural economics, faculty of agriculture, Universite Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Fund raising
He led or contributed to research grants totaling an average of $5million per year
Countries visited
Africa: DRC, Angola, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Gabon, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Morocco, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Malawi, Madagascar,Asia: Japan, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, China
Europe: Belgium, France, Netherlands, UK, Germany, Norway, Luxembourg,America: USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Santo Domingo
Selected publications
Nyamuhirwa DM, Feleke S, Dontsop Nguezet PM, Sissoko D, Moussa B, Kouakou AG, Zakari S, Abdoulaye T and Manyong V. (2025). Perspectives on the adoption of black soldier fly larvae for animal feed among livestock farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Front. Environ. Econ. 4: 1519767
Manyong Victor, Paul Martin Dontsop Nguezet, Dieu Merci Nyamuhirwa Akonkwa, Jacob Mignouna, Mpoko Bokanga, Zoumana Bamba, and Razak Adeoti. (2024). Drivers and magnitude of food insecurity: Evidence from rural households in the Center-South of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Heliyon 10
Jessica Hoel, Benjamin Norton, Hope Michelson, and Victor Manyong. 2024. Misattribution prevents learning. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 2024; 1-24
Manyong Victor, Shiferaw Feleke, and Tahirou Abdoulaye. (2023). IITA’s Social Science and Agribusiness Research for Development: Compendium of Research Highlights 1967– 2022. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. Ibadan. Nigeria. IITA 2023. 383 pp
Manyong Victor, Mpoko Bokanga, Dieu Merci Nyamuhirwa Akonkwa, Zoumana Bamba, Razak Adeoti, Gregoire Mwepu, Steven M. Cole, and Paul Martin Dontsop Nguezet. (2022). COVID-19 Outbreak and Rural Household Food Security in the Western Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Development Perspectives. 28 (2022), 100469
Adella A. Ng’Atigwa, Aloyce Hepelwa, Victor Manyong & Shiferaw Feleke (2022) Analysis of technical efficiency among youth involved in crop production in Njombe Region, Tanzania. Cogent Economics & Finance, 10 (1)
Feleke, S.; Cole, S.M.; Sekabira, H.; Djouaka, R.; Manyong, V. (2021). Circular Bioeconomy Research for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Innovations, Gaps, and Actions. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1926.
Hope Michelson, Anna Fairbairn, Brenna Ellison, Annemie Maertens, Victor Manyong. (2021). Misperceived quality: Fertilizer in Tanzania. Journal of Development Economics. Volume 148. January 2021. Article Number 102579.Mastewal Yami, Shiferaw Feleke, Tahirou Abdoulaye, Arega Alene, Zoumana Bamba, and Victor Manyong. (2019). African Rural Youth Engagement in Agribusiness: Achievements, Limitations and Lessons. Sustainability 2019, 11, 185; doi:10.3390/su11010185.
Wossen T., Abdoulaye, T., Alene, A, Nguimkeu, P., Feleke, S., Rabbi, I.Y., Haile MG., Manyong, V. (2018). Estimating the Productivity Impacts of Technology Adoption in the Presence of Misclassification. American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 101 (1):1-16.
Jote, A., Feleke, S., Tufa, A., Manyong V. and Lemma, T. (2017). Assessing the technical efficiency of sweet potato producers in Southern Ethiopia » Experimental Agriculture 1-16
Wossen, T. Assfaw, Abdoulaye, T., Alene, A., Feleke, S., Menkir, A., & Manyong, V. (2017). Measuring the impacts of adaptation strategies to climate change: the case of drought-tolerant maize varieties ». Journal of Environmental Management 203: 106-113
Feleke Shiferaw, Victor Manyong, Tahirou Abdoulaye, and Arega D. Alene. (2016). Assessing the impacts of cassava technology on poverty reduction in Africa. Studies in Agricultural Economics. 118 (2016) 101-111.
Ainembabazi JH, Tripathi L, Rusike J, Abdoulaye T, Manyong V. (2015). Ex-Ante Economic Impact Assessment of Genetically Modified Banana Resistant to Xanthomonas Wilt in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. PLoS ONE 10: 1-15
Rusike J., N.M. Mahungu, S.S. Lukombo, T. Kendenga, S.M. Bidiaka, A. Alene, A. Lema, and V.M. Manyong. (2014). Does a cassava research-for-development program have impact at the farm level? Evidence from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Food Policy 46 (2014). 193-204
Meenakshi, J., Banerji, A., Manyong, V., Tomlins, K., Mittal, N. & Hamukwala, P. (2012). Using a discrete choice experiment to elicit the demand for a nutritious food: willingness-to-pay for orange maize in rural Zambia. Journal of Health Economics, 31(1), 62—71.
Alene, A.A., A. Menkir, S. O. Ajala, B. Badu-Apraku, A. S. Olanrewaju, V. M. Manyong, and Abdou Ndiaye. (2009). The economic and poverty impacts of maize research in West and Central Africa. Agricultural Economics 40 (2009) 535–550
Gerichhausen, M., E.D. Berkhout, H.J.M. Hamers, and V.M. Manyong. (2009). A quantitative framework to analyse cooperation among rural households. Agricultural Systems. Volume 101, Issue 3: 173-185
Manyong, V.M., I. Okike, and T. O. Williams. (2006). Effective dimensionality and factors affecting crop-livestock integration in West African savannas: a combination of principal component analysis and tobit approaches. Agricultural Economics. 35: 145-155.
Manyong, V.M., A. Ikpi, J.K. Olayemi, Y. Yusuf, B.T. Omona, and V. Okoruwa. (2005). Agriculture in Nigeria: Identifying opportunities for increased commercialisation and investment. IITA. Ibadan, Nigeria. 190p.
Manyong, V.M., K.E. Makinde, N. Sanginga, B. Vanlauwe, and J. Diels. (2001). Fertilizer use and definition of farmer domains for impact-oriented research in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 59: 129 – 141