BUAN

Dr. Gloria N Mashungwa

Senior Lecturer

Faculty of Agriculture
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences (CSS)

P/Bag 0027, Gaborone Botswana
3650100
gmashungwa@buan.ac.bw

Dr. Nnaniki Gloria Mashungwa is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN), where she has served since 2013. She is an accomplished agronomist and plant scientist with over 30 years of experience spanning academia, government service, and applied agricultural development, with a strong focus on improving crop productivity, resilience, and sustainability in Botswana’s semi-arid environments. She obtained her PhD in Agronomy from BUAN in 2024, specializing in genetic variability of nitrogen fixation and water use efficiency in cowpea. Her academic background also includes an MSc in Plant Breeding from the University of Sydney and a BSc in Agriculture from the University of Botswana.

Before joining BUAN, Dr. Mashungwa held senior positions in Botswana’s Ministry of Agriculture, including Chief Agronomist, Regional Agricultural Officer, and Oilseeds Program Leader, contributing significantly to national crop research and technology dissemination. Her research interests encompass drought tolerance, climate-resilient agriculture, legume improvement, water use efficiency, and sustainable grain systems. She has led and contributed to major donor-funded projects, notably SASSCAL initiatives and the Millennium Seed Bank’s Useful Plants Project. Dr. Mashungwa has published widely and contributed to internationally recognized scientific books. She remains committed to teaching, mentoring, applied research, and promoting community seed banking as a strategy for conserving agricultural biodiversity and strengthening climate-resilient food systems in Southern Africa

Plant Breeding, Fibre Crop Production, Oilseed crops, Agronomy,
Root and Tuber crops,
Industrial Hemp and Medicinal Hemp (Cannabis sativa) Indigenous Knowledge in crop production and conservation, Crops and vation and Community Human Kind, Underutilized and Neglected crops,
Seed conser Seed Banking,
Crop domestication and sustainable utilization of wild edible plants

1. Useful Plants Project (UPP 11)

2. Cultivation, value addition and marketing of climate smart emerging crops to improve food security.

2. Water Use Efficiency and Grain Quality of Crops under Water Deficit Conditions. SASSCAL Task ID: Task 308 - 1 451 760.

3. Making use of wild legumes to improve arable and livestock farming in Botswana. SASSCAL TASK 316 (2012-2018) - P1 852 300

4. Bambara groundnut (BAMLINK PROJECT)

5 Breeding blackeye cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) for resistance to Alectra vogelli (L.) Benth in Botswana.

6.Molecular, environmental and nutritional Evaluation of Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranean L. Verdc.) for food production in Semi-Arid Africa and India. (2005

7. Making use of wild legumes to improve arable and livestock farming inBotswana, SASSCAL TASK 316 (2012-2018) - P1 852 300

8. Cultivation, value addition and marketing of climate smart emerging crops to improve food security: SASSCAL Task ID: Task 335

SASSCAL II: Sub-Task 1: (2023-2027)

Molecular and physiological characterization of Tsamma melon (Kgengwe) in their natural habitat in various areas in Botswana and Namibia

PUBLICATIONS

BOOK CHAPTERS

1. Dayoub M., Rammotokara G, Mashungwa G.N (2025) Baobab’s and Morula’s Contribution to Food Security in Africa. In: Adefila A., Cheikhyoussef A., Egbazor K.F., Asomaki R., Lepetu J. and Saarto A. Baobab and Marula: New solutions to Global Warming and Food Security.pp113-

2. Mashungwa G.N, Mogotsi K.K, Amosso C, Sacande M., Ulian T., Mattana E (2019) Bauhinia macrantha Oliv. In: Ulian T. Flores, C., Lira, R., Mamatsharaga, A., Mogotsi, K.K., Muthoka, P., Ngwako, S.,Nyamongo, D.O., Omondi, W., Sanogo, A.K., Sanogo, S., Mattana, E. (Eds)(2019). Wild plants for a sustainable future: 110 Multipurpose species. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew pp 12-15

3.Mashungwa G.N, Ngwako, S., Mogotsi, K.K., Sacande M., Ulian T., Mattana E (2019) Cucumis africanus L.f. In: Ulian T. Flores, C., Lira, R., Mamatsharaga, A., Mogotsi, K.K., Muthoka, P., Ngwako, S., Nyamongo, D.O., Omondi, W.,Sanogo, A.K., Sanogo, S., Mattana, E. (Eds)(2019). Wild plants for a sustainable future: 110 Multipurpose species. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew pp 28-31

4. Mashungwa G.N., Mogotsi, K.K., Amosso C., Sacande M., Ulian T., Mattana E (2019) Grewia flava DC. In: Ulian T. Flores, C., Lira, R., Mamatsharaga, A., Mogotsi, K.K., Muthoka, P., Ngwako, S., Nyamongo, D.O., Omondi, W.,Sanogo, A.K., Sanogo, S., Mattana, E. (Eds) (2019). Wild plants for a sustainable future: 110 Multipurpose species. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew pp 32-35

5. Mogotsi, K.K., Amosso C., Sacande M., Mashungwa G.N., Ulian T., Mattana E (2019) Hyphaene petersiana Klotzsch ex Mart. In: Ulian T. Flores, C., Lira, R., Mamatsharaga, A., Mogotsi, K.K., Muthoka, P., Ngwako, S., Nyamongo, D.O., Omondi, W.,Sanogo, A.K., Sanogo, S., Mattana, E. (Eds) (2019). Wild plants for a sustainable future: 110 Multipurpose species. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew pp 32

6. Pule-Meulenberg F, Obopile M, Chimwamurombe P, Bernard N., Losologolo M., Hurek T., Sarkar A., Batlang U., Ngwako S., Schmiedel U., Nanyeni L., Mashungwa G., Tselaesele N., and Reinhold-Hurek B. (2018). Diversity of wild herbaceous legumes in Southern Africa, their associated root nodule bacteria and insect pests. In: Climate change and adaptive land management in southern Africa – assessments, changes, challenges, and solutions (ed. by Revermann, R.,Krewenka, K.M., Schmiedel, U., Olwoch, J.M., Helmschrot, J. & Jürgens, N.), pp. 257-264, Biodiversity & Ecology, 6, Klaus Hess Publishers, Göttingen & Windhoek. ISBN:978-3933117-95-3.

7. Batlang, U. King C.(Jr). S. Ngwako. C. Nkomazana, S. G. Malambane. T. Mpuisang, T.S. Moroke, G. Mashungwa, G. Bagwasi, F. Pule-Meulenberg, D. Ng’uni, G. Munkombwe (2018). Germplasm evaluation for climate adaptation and drought tolerance: The cases of local varieties of maize in Zambia and cowpea in Botswana. In: Climate change and adaptive land management in southern Africa – assessments, changes, challenges, and solutions (ed. by Revermann, R.,Krewenka, K.M., Schmiedel, U., Olwoch, J.M., Helmschrot, J. & Jürgens, N.), pp. 272-281, Biodiversity & Ecology, 6, Klaus Hess Publishers, Göttingen & Windhoek. ISBN:978-3933117-95-3.

8. Obopile M., Karabo O., Tshipinare B.P.,Losologolo M., Bernard N., Ngwako S., Batlang U., Mashungwa G.N.,Tselaesele N., Pule-Meulenberg F. (2018). Increasing yields of cereals: benefits derived from intercropping with legumes and from the associated bacteria. In: Climate change and adaptive land management in southern Africa – assessments, changes, challenges, and solutions (ed. by Revermann, R.,Krewenka, K.M., Schmiedel, U., Olwoch, J.M., Helmschrot, J. & Jürgens, N.), pp. 265-271, Biodiversity & Ecology, 6, Klaus Hess Publishers, Göttingen & Windhoek. ISBN:978-3933117-95-3.

9. De Cauwer V., Mubita C., Chimwamurombe P.M., George D., Ham., Hannel., Heita H., Makoi T., Mashungwa G.,Reinhold-Hurek B., and Tshwenyane S. (2018). Artificial and assisted natural regeneration of socio economically important Southern African tree species. In: Climate change and adaptive land management in southern Africa – assessments, changes, challenges, and solutions (ed. by Revermann, R.,Krewenka, K.M., Schmiedel, U., Olwoch, J.M., Helmschrot, J. & Jürgens, N.), pp. 324-331, Biodiversity & Ecology, 6, Klaus Hess Publishers, Göttingen & Windhoek. ISBN:978-3933117-95-3.

10. Van der Voosen H.A.M, Mashungwa G.N, R.M. Mmolotsi (2007) Olea europaea L. In: Van der Vossen, H.A.M & Mkamilo, G.S. (Editors). Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 14. Vegetable Oils. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen, Netherlands/Backhuys, Publishers, Leiden, Netherlands/CTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. pp.121-126. ISBN 90-5782-191-2

Articles in Refereed Journals

1. Mashungwa, G. N., Moroke, T. S., Kgosiesele, E. and Kashe, K. (2018). Grain legume production and their potential for sustainable agriculture in Botswana between 2008 and 2015 – A review. Botswana Journal of Agriculture and Applied Sciences 12 (Issue 1 - Special) pp 95-104. ISSN: 1815-5574.

2. Bernard N., Losologolo M., Ngwako S., Batlang U., Mashungwa G., Tselaesele N., and Pule –Meulenberg F (2017). Symbiotic performance of grain and wild herbaceous legumes in the Okavango delta and Tswapong region of Botswana. Symbiosis. DOI 10.1007/s13199-017-0515-2.

3. Tsheko R. Tapela M. Mashungwa G. and Kayombo B. (2015). Relationship between sorghum yield and both measured and satellite-derived meteorological parameters in semi-arid Botswana. African Crop Science Journal 23:151-164.

4. Ngwako S. and G.N. Mashungwa (2011) Current approaches to Alectra vogelii control in cowpea. International Journal of Tropical Agriculture and Food Systems, 5(2): 143–146. ©Tapas Institute of Scientific Research and Development.

5. Sesay A., Khonga E.B., Balole T.V. and Mashungwa G.N. (2006). Assessment of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production for drought tolerance in Botswana. Botswana Journal of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, 2: 98-116.