Thulani Ningi

About

Thulani Ningi is an experienced agricultural economist whose research focuses on water, energy, and food (WEF) security for rural households, climate-smart agriculture and sustainable food systems. He joined Conservation International as Socio-Economics Manager in 2025, conducting social science and impact evaluation research. In this role, he provides technical expertise to strengthen the evidence base on the economics, governance, and social and climate-mitigation impacts of the Herding for Health programme. Thulani reports to both CI’s Moore Centre for Science and Solutions and Conservation South Africa and is a new member of the Arnhold UC Santa Barbara - Conservation International Climate Solutions Research Collaborative under the BILToNG (Behavioural Incentives for Land Transformation on Natural Grasslands) initiative. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics, with a focus on trade-offs and synergies within the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus and their effects on livelihood resilience. Previously, he served as an agricultural economist specialising in agro-food chains at the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) in South Africa. Thulani’s academic experience extends internationally. He is a Fulbright Scholar and was a visiting research scholar at the University of Georgia in the United States. He has collaborated on research projects with institutions such as the University of Fort Hare (RSVC), the University of Cape Town (ACDI), the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Limpopo, and North-West University.

Employment

• Conservation International Socio-Economics Manager
  2025 - Present
• National Agricultural Marketing Council Economist
  2023 - 2025
• University of Georgia Visiting Researcher
  2022 - 2023
• Cape Peninsula University of Technology Lecturer
  2022 - 2022
• Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre (RVSC) Research Assistant
  2017 - 2018

Education

• University of Fort Hare Doctorate in Agricultural Economics
  2021 - 2025
• University of Fort Hare Masters in Agricultural Economics
  2018 - 2019

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (30)

• Exploring uncertainty in the household water, energy, and food nexus: trade-offs and synergies in South Africa
  Regional Sustainability 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.regsus.2026.100355
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• The Effect of Protectionism and Competition on South Africa’s Avocados: What Realistic Export Market Opportunities Can Be Explored?
  Research on World Agricultural Economy 2026 DOI: 10.36956/rwae.v7i2.2554
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• Environmental sustainability: Transforming the United Kingdom’s agricultural sector
  Development and Sustainability in Economics and Finance 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.dsef.2026.100121
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• Crowdfunding for community transitions in water, energy, and food: Exploring investment willingness in South Africa
  Environmental Nexus 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.enex.2025.100004
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• Asymmetric price transmission and market integration in South Africa’s maize and wheat value chains: evidence from a Nonlinear ARDL approach
  2026 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-10615322/v1
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• Household systematic network analysis for achieving the food-energy-water nexus in South Africa: exploring the relationship between FEW nexus synergies and trade-offs
  Cogent Social Sciences 2025 DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2025.2549483
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• A literature review of the food–energy–water nexus trade-offs and synergies research at the household level
  Energy Nexus 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.nexus.2025.100562
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• Harnessing localised multi-actor institutional water, energy and food nexus financing to achieve just transitions in South Africa
  Sustainable Futures 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.sftr.2025.101018
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• Synergies and trade-offs in the energy-water-food security nexus: Implications for household livelihood resilience in South Africa
  Energy for Sustainable Development 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.esd.2025.101832
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• Atoms4Food: Prepping Africa for consumerism
  Scientific African 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2025.e02943
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