Moses T. Wanyakha

Dr. Moses T. Wanyakha joined the USDA Midwest Climate Hub in January 2024 after completing postdoctoral work at Iowa State University, where he earned his PhD in 2023. Dr. Wanyakha is a trained agriculturist focusing on agricultural education and extension, food security and nutrition, monitoring evaluation and learning, and horticulture and agronomy. His dissertation focused on food insecurity and nutrition education, specifically exploring the role of Extension Master Gardeners in providing fresh produce to food pantries. Dr. Wanyakha's recent work examined cybersecurity threats facing small- and medium-scale farms in the U.S., focusing on farmers' perceptions of cyber threats as well as economic impacts. He has utilized his background as an evaluator to support writing interview protocols, surveys, analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, and development of final evaluation reports. During his appointment, he will be supporting the increased adoption of regionally scalable, climate-smart practices in the Midwest, particularly working on enhanced adaptation, carbon management, achieving net-zero emissions in agriculture, and on engaging youth. His additional roles include facilitating stakeholder understanding, creating Theories of Change, amplifying marginalized voices, and strengthening the climate science and education infrastructure through a revitalized Extension-Midwest Climate Hub partnership. His areas of interest include monitoring and evaluation, international agriculture development, agronomy, and political ecology. During his free time he enjoys playing and watching soccer, gardening, and reading.