Tony Machacha

Advisory Board

Born and raised in western Kenya on the foothills of Mt. Elgon, Tony Machacha grew up in the 1970s and '80s farming his family’s ancestral land. Since then, he has spent most of his career working to increase the visibility and success of small-scale agricultural initiatives around the world.

In 2005, Tony joined Heifer International’s National Immigrant Farming Initiative (NIFI) as a program associate, coordinating technical assistance to immigrant farming projects. He has also served as a research assistant for the Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Program to improve food security in eastern Uganda, focused his thesis on Farmer Field Schools in western Kenya, tutored immigrant workers in Ames, Iowa, and volunteered as a staff member and on the management board for Worldly Goods, a nonprofit, fair-trade enterprise.

In 2010, Tony joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, supporting the Agricultural Development Program in the Global Development division. As a financial associate, he is responsible for forecasting grant and contract spending, tracking division projects, and advising staff on a wide range of financial and operational issues.

Tony received his bachelor of science in agricultural engineering from Jomo Kenyatta University in 2001, his master's of science in sociology and sustainable agriculture from Iowa State University in 2004 and his masters in business administration from Oregon State University in 2010.