Rodney Machokoto 

Farmer, Machokoto Family Farms

Rodney Machokoto is an agribusiness professional who brings together environmental sustainability, regenerative urban farming, and community development around the Phoenix metropolitan area.  Rodney and his wife, Daphine, are the founders and owners of the Arizona-based Machokoto Family Farms. Their work focuses on building local food systems and making fresh food more accessible to food-insecure individuals. They partner with food banks, the City of Phoenix, and other organizations supporting disadvantaged families.  

In addition to being an avid full-time urban farmer, Rodney is also a PhD student at Arizona State University studying the economics and sociology of how nonprofits and social enterprises collaborate to tackle social determinants of health including food access challenges. He is also a serial entrepreneur who has founded a number of organizations including a social enterprise, 3Angels Livable Communities Initiative (3AngelsLCI) that tackles health issues especially in needy communities. In addition, he launched the Salt River GrowOp and the Black Farmers GrowOp, two farmer cooperatives engaged in coaching new and small farmers to improve their productivity and business management practices. 

Rodney was born in Zimbabwe which has an amazing farming climate where his parents taught him how urban farming can alleviate hunger and poverty. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in accounting from universities in North Carolina, and he is a former business consultant and auditor with Ernst & Young.