Dr. Joyce Chitja works on research and community-level engagement focused on smallholder households, with particular attention to their empowerment, agency, and participation in agricultural systems for food and nutrition security.
At UNU-INWEH, as the Sustainable Agriculture and Communities Research Fellow, she contributes to research, capacity development, and policy dialogue on the social dimensions of water and agricultural systems. Her work highlights the importance of “intangible” factors in agricultural development, including empowerment, agency, gender, and participation, which often shape smallholder farmers’ access to critical resources such as water. Through this work, she supports improved water security, market access, and food and nutrition outcomes for smallholder communities.
Dr. Chitja serves as the Director of the African Centre for Food Security (ACFS) and an Associate Professor of Food Security at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). She holds a PhD in Food Security and a Master’s degree in Social Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). She has also completed specialized training at Wageningen University (Netherlands), as well as a Senior Management Development Programme at the Stellenbosch University Business School (South Africa).