Associate member of TerraCircle
Currently based in Honiara, Solomon Islands

Claudine Lilo Watoto is a highly experienced agricultural development professional with a Bachelor of Tropical Agricultural Science and over 20 years’ experience working with NGOs, donor agencies and rural communities in the Pacific. 

She has led programs funded by AusAID, EU and other international partners, specialising in program and project management, rural development, agricultural value chains and market access research.

Her work combines rigorous research, monitoring evaluation and learning, and participatory rural approaches to create context‑appropriate solutions that strengthen farmer organisations, promote sustainable agriculture and improve livelihoods. She has proven capacity in capacity building, strategic planning and stakeholder engagement at both community and policy levels.

Achievements

• strengthened farmer organisations through registration, governance training, and tailored capacity building programs
• managed multi‑site donor-funded projects supporting over 5,000 farmers via the Planting Material Network
• reduced post-harvest losses and improved market access through targeted training in value addition, food safety and post-harvest handling
• coordinated national farmer conferences, diversity fairs, and exchange programs, fostering knowledge sharing and collaboration
• delivered applied value chain and rural entrepreneurship research informing policy and program design in Solomon Islands agriculture.

Expertise

• program and project design, management, appraisal
• monitoring, evaluation, and learning  systems
• rural agricultural extension and participatory community development
• value-chain analysis, market access and agro-entrepreneurship
• strategic planning, budgeting, and contract/financial management
• capacity building for farmer groups and women’s agricultural enterprises
• stakeholder engagement and facilitation across government, NGO, and community networks
• conference facilitation and applied agricultural research.

Selected Engagements

• Program Manager & Senior Officer, Kastom Gaden Association (2005–2020) – Led agricultural livelihoods programs integrating farmer training, seed systems, and nutrition security
• Consultant Trainer – delivered sustainable agriculture and value-chain training for rural women farmers.
• Researcher – conducted market access and value-chain studies for farmer organisations, informing program design
• AusAID Program Support Officer (2000–2005) – supported rural livelihoods and agricultural development portfolios.
• represented Solomon Islands agriculture programs at national and regional conferences including value chain, extension and sustainable livelihoods forums.