Silas Ochieng (M.Sc. Research Methods, B.Sc.

Agriculture):
10 Years Work Experience in Research, Monitoring & Programs Evaluation
Email: silasochieng85@gmail.com
Nationality: Kenyan
Mobile: Kenya +254 (0) 721 426 557
Skype: Silasochieng

Areas of Core competencies: Market Systems, Value Chains & Enterprise Development
, Financial Inclusion, Designing & implementing CLA strategies, Program reviews & Impact Evaluation.

Countries worked in: Kenya, Somalia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali and Swaziland

SUMMARY

Silas possesses 10 years experience in Monitoring and Results Measurement with vast skills in designing,overseeing and implementing results based
monitoring and evaluation of Market Systems programmes, including the establishment of the M&E frameworks, log frames, CLA strategies and
monitoring performance against indicators. Currently, Silas works as the Monitoring and Results Measurement Manager at DAI (DFID M4P Programme,
Promoting Inclusive Markets in Somalia) and through his skilled MRM work, the program has scored A and A+ in the 2016/2017 DFID Annual
Review.Previous to this, he served as a Research Manager at the Value Chain Finance Centre, a joint programme of USAID-FIRM and DFID-FSD
whose aim is to strengthen agricultural value chains in Kenya by catalysing access sustainable financial solutions.Silas has conducted short-term
consultancies in topical areas that have included market research,agricultural value chain studies (dairy,livestock,export vegetables and poultry) for
Micro Finance Unit in Swaziland and additional research projects in Market Systems Development. Mr. Ochieng holds an MSc Research Methods in
addition to a BSc in Agriculture with certificates in Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistics, and Statistics in Applied Climatology, and is an International
Trainer of Trainers in Value Chain Financing (FAO). He has participated in conferences on Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Programs using
a Market Systems Approach and the Donor Group Coordination on Agricultural Value Chain Development. Mr. Ochieng is an accomplished researcher,
serving as the primary author for works published in the Journal of Horticultural Sciences and Forestry, African Journal of Horticultural Science, and
others; additionally, Mr. Ochieng has published a book, titled Adaptation to Climate Change by Farmers in Africa. Silas has had a chance to work in
the following countries ;Kenya, Swaziland, Uganda,Tanzania,Mali,Burkina Faso,Somalia, Somaliland and Eritrea.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Regional Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI): DFID and DANIDA funded Market Systems
Development Programme (M4P) - Promoting Inclusive Markets in Somalia (PIMS) May 2015 to date

Promoting Inclusive Markets in Somalia (PIMS) aims at supporting transformational change in Somalia by strengthening market systems. The
programme encourages the growth of the private sector and support the measures required to deliver long term job creation and ultimately reduce
poverty in Somalia. The programme uses investment facilitation and cash-for-work funds to spur increased investment, market growth and enhanced
productivity .The program works with SMEs/MSMEs in the Agriculture and Livestock Sectors (Producers in the Shabelle Valley, Somaliland and
Puntland) and targets to create 9,000 FTE jobs, generate 25 million net additional income for smallholder producers, leverage 10 million Private
Sector finance and assist 45,000 smallholder producers access affordable financial services from the financial institutions . As the Regional M&E
manager, I have performed the following tasks;
Designed and executed research studies in the agriculture, fisheries and livestock value chains, analyzed constraints hindering optimal functioning
of the supported value chains and worked with the program team to design intervention strategies with comprehensive strategy and action plans
Using DCED Standards, I developed the programs results framework/ MEAL Plan with all the indicators of change (Including Value for Money
measures) and documented all the indicators in the Indicator Reference Sheet
Designed the programs Log frame in consultation with DFID and the program team
Designed results chains for all interventions with indicators of change at each system node.
Planned and executed baseline data collection across all sectors against which progress will be measured
Conducted panel surveys to measure change in the outcome indicators
Capacity built the program staff (intervention officers and project partners/lead firms) on the programs M&E tools and mobile based technology
(ODK & Rapid Pro) for routine monitoring and data collection
Developed and implemented a robust learning mechanism through a series of mini surveys and rapid appraisals and contributed on lessons learnt
on other market systems learning platforms (BEAM Exchange and MicroLinks).
Oversaw the program collaborate, learn and adapt lessons from similar programs working in the same context (A learning platform has been
established between the program and USAIDs Growth, Employment and Livelihood Program-GEEL in Somalia).
Worked on quarterly reports for sharing with the program donors and relevant stakeholders
Organized and implemented a midterm review of the program to measure progress especially on the outcome level indicators.
The programme has to date enabled over 45,000 small scale producers increase their incomes by over $ 8 million net additional income; created
5,000 FTE jobs and leveraged $ 11 million private sector investment
The robust M&E systems used by the program has enabled PIMS earn A and A+ in DFIDs 2016/2017 Annual Review
Research, Monitoring and Evaluations Manager at Value Chain Finance Centre - Jointly funded by USAID-FIRM and DFID August
2012 May 2015

FSD Kenya is a multi-donor funded Trust (DFID, DANIDA, SIDA and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) whose mandate is to increase access to financial
services among low income Kenyans and businesses
As Research & Evaluations Manager at the Value Chain Finance Centre, my roles included:
Leading the design and implementation of panel surveys (FinAcess, on sample of 15,000 respondents) to measure change in
financial inclusion in the country.
Monitoring and Evaluation+ general research and data analysis
Impact evaluation of financial inclusion programmes implemented by FSD (K)
Data Quality Assurance (DQA) and Activity Ground Verifications
Identification and prioritization of selected value chains that are considered to have maximum benefits to the poor ;
Functional analysis of the selected value chains and developing appropriate, long term and sustainable upgrading programs within the selected
value chains for optimal functionality of the entire chain
Help the program stakeholders especially the financial institutions to design low risk and high return financial services for the smallholder producers
in the agriculture sector
Designing of performance monitoring plans (with indicators fitting into the CDOs of the FtF program) and collaboration, learning and adaptation
strategies (CLA strategies)
Working on the Terms of References and managing a range of consultants and capacity building of project partners on data management
Developing research tools (questionnaires and FGD guides) and managing in-country studies (from recruitment of field enumerators, piloting the
tools, overseeing data collection using mobile technologies and data quality assurance, analysis to reporting)

Monitoring and Evaluation Manager (Climate Change and Livelihood Program funded by Koffi Annan and Climate Health
Foundation)Aga Khan University, Nairobi (July 2010 to August 2012)
Overseeing data collection on research projects on climate change, weather and climate information needs of farmers and fisher forks.
Participated in the development of farmer trainer manuals on the use of weather and climate information for disaster management in collaboration
with African Centre for Meteorological Applications on Development and Health and Climate Foundation.
Designing M&E frameworks and log frame for new programs & capacity building of project staff on M&E
Led the team in reviewing the institutional M&E plans and evaluating resilience projects funded by Aga Khan Development Network (AKN) in the
coastal region of Kenya.
Capacity building of staff on M&E and data processing

Research and Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Program funded by
DFID/SIDA) - International Centre for Research in Agro forestry/ICRAF (August 2009-July 2011)
I led in the coordination of climate change,agriculture and food security program in Kenya,Zambia,Tanzania,Mali and India across a pool of
25,000 beneficiaries
Oversaw the revision of the programs log frame and M&E framework
Monitored the adaptation strategies of the smallholders at farm level (these included adotion of improved crop varieties, planting of trees on farm,
intercropping practices and water harvesting)
Drafted progress and quarterly reports
Training field staff on M&E principles, overseeing designing and roll out of mobile based data collection techniques

M&E Officer - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (2008-2009)

Overseeing data collection on research projects at baseline, midline and endline
Designing M&E frameworks and log frame for new programs & capacity building of project staff on M&E
Led the team in reviewing the institutional M&E plans and evaluating resilience projects

CONSULTANCY EXPERIENCE
Monitoring & evaluation and project reviews (Selected assignments)
Evaluator: Evaluation of women rural technologies in agriculture for enhanced family income (UN Women, UN Complex Gigiri)
Evaluator: Mid Term Review of the Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) in Mandera, Marsabit and Turkana Counties (FSD Kenya)
Team Member: End Term Review of the Relevance, Effectiveness and Appropriateness of Existing Credit Scoring Methodologies for Agricultural
Lenders in Kenya (ScopeInsight, Kenya).
Consultant: Development of monitoring and evaluation framework for violence against women (WERK Kenya,)
Consultant: Evaluation of Girl Child Education Retention Program (Uwezo Kenya,)
Field manager: Evaluation of East Africa Dairy Development Programme (EADD) for Heifer International
Technical advisor: Evaluation of Dairy Development programme for the DANIDA funded programme in Kenya
Lead researcher: Market study to understand the level of micro insurance coverage for low income households in selected slum dwellings in
Nairobi (USAID Study commissioned by MicroInsure)
Field Supervisor/data analyst: Coordinated research activities for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in 6 Counties in Kenya
Agricultural value chains and livelihood programs (Selected assignments)
Lead researcher: Mapping of the dairy, sorghum and beef value chains for Barclays bank under the PROFIT program managed by AGRA (May
2017). The aim of the value chain analysis is to deepen financial inclusion for the agriculture dependent value chain actors
Team leader: Mapping of baby vegetables, dairy, indigenous chickens value chains in Mbabane and Manzini regions in Swaziland(IFAD and
World Bank funded)
Trainer: Agricultural value chain financing principles and structuring of agribusiness financial products (Micro Finance Unit), Swaziland. IFAD
funded project.
Field team Leader: Dairy Value Chain analysis in Kenya (USAID)
Team leader: Mango & other horticultural value Chain Analyses in Kenya (DFID-FSD)
Consultant: Livestock value chain analysis in the Northern corridors of Kenya (USAID-Land O Lakes)
Team leader: Cotton, textile and garments value chain analysis in Kenya (USAID FIRM)
Consultant: Production and processing of fruits to two large scale horticultural crops producing companies namely Sunny Mango with 200 acres
of mango, Avoil with 250 acres of avocado (DANIDA)
Consultant: Livelihood and Value Chain Analysis for Agricultural, Livestock and Forestry Products in Eastern Bamako, Mali (Funded by Farm
Africa/ African Wildlife Foundation).
Lead researcher: Feasibility study of the logistics supply chain of the horticultural sector (Taavura, Israel)
Advisory team member: Climate change adaptation by smallholder farmers in Kenya (AKN funded project in Kwale district)
Consultant: Gender and climate change in Turkana District. Assessment of adaptation strategies and vulnerability status of pastoral communities
in Kenya (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute)
Field team leader: Weather and climate information needs of smallholder farmers in Western Kenya (A project funded by Kofi Anan Foundation,
Aga Khan Foundation and World Meteorological Organization)
Team leader: Climate change and Food security baseline survey in Kenya-Nyando region (ICRAF)
Consultant: Conservation Agriculture with Trees on Farms (CAWT), project done by World Agroforestry

Financial inclusion
Data analyst and reporting lead (2017): Evaluation of the use of Credit history reports among the financial services consumers in Kenya (Digital
Divide Data-DDD on behalf of the world Bank)
Team member: Mapping of financial access touch points in Kenya .(Joint project done by the Gates Foundation, Central bank of Kenya and
Brand Fusion)
Team member : A scoping study to understand Financial access in Kenya (FinAccess), a collaborative study done by FSD , KNBS and the
Central bank of Kenya; sample of 15,000 respondents
Lead researcher: Youth and financial market development survey in Kenya; the rift between inclusion and exclusion.
Team leader: Market case studies to understand the demand and supply of financial services for the low income households in the rural and peri-
urban settings

PRESENTATIONS & TRAINING EXPERIENCE

A presenter at the revolutionizing finance for agriculture conference, Organized by FAO (Kenya,2014)
Trainer on Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Programs using a Markets Systems Approach (Kenya,2014)
Presenter at the Donor Group Coordination on Agricultural value chain Development. BDS conference held in Mombasa in December 2012
Presenter on Sharing Lessons in Africa on Climate Change Adaptation workshop- between 2nd -5th April 2012 at United Nations Complex, Gigiri,
Nairobi
Presenter at Scientific Research and Innovations for development conference-Attended between 4th-5th May 2012 at Jomo Kenyatta University
of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL REFERED JOURNALS

Silas Ochieng, Esther Onyango and Alex O. Awiti (2012). Weather and Climate Information Needs of Small Scale Farming and Fishing
Communities in Western Kenya for Enhanced Adaptive Potential to Climate Change. SRI conference Proceeding, May 2012, ISSN 2079 -6226.
Ochieng, S.O, Mutui, T.M2 and Opile, W.R3 (2011): Effect of Varying Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates on the Growth and Yield of Artemisia annua L. in
Kenya. Afr. J. Hort. Sci. (2011) 4:13
Twyman J, Green M, Bernier Q, Kristjanson P, Russo S, Tall A, Ampaire E, Nyasimi , Ochieng S, McKune S, Mwongera C, and Ndourba, Y.
2014. Adaptation Actions in Africa: Evidence that Gender Matters.
Ochieng, S. O (2011): New Book titled Adaptation to Climate Change by Farmers in Africa. LAMBERT Academic Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-3-
8473-7817-4. 116 pp. Available Online at www.lap-publishing.com.
EDUCATIONAL & PROFESSIONAL TRAININGS

2011: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya (Msc. Research Methods & Applied Statistics)
Thesis: Status of food security and adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers in Sub Saharan Africa to climate change: A comparative study between
Kenya, Uganda, Mali, Tanzania and Ethiopia.

2010: University of Reading, UK (Cert. Applied Statistics-eSMS); Walker Institute, UK (Cert. Statistics in Applied Climatology)

2013: FAO (Cert. Trainer of trainers on agricultural value chain financing )

2016: MottMcDonald (Hostile Environment Training for Conflict Prone Countries)

2005: Moi University, Kenya (BSc. Agriculture)

2017: Doing Development in a Digital World- Training organized by DFID.

REFERENCES

Mobile: +254 722 671 648; Email;

Mr. Cyprian Shilaho, cshilaho@mindsetafrica.com Operations & Finance Manager DAI
Senior Programs Manager at Value Chain
Mr. Michael Mbaka Mobile: 0721839383: Email: Michael.mbaka@gmail.com Finance Centre, FSD Kenya
Regional Research and Monitoring
Mr.Jack Abebe Mobile 0724011427, email: jackabebe@gmail.com Coordinator, UN Women,UN Complex Gigiri