Transcript of the presentation:
Dr. Mugasi thanked the moderator for the introduction and started his presentation by asking the delegates how many of them would like to invest in agriculture after listening to the minister’s speech. He went on to say that NAADS is an agency under the ministry of agriculture in Uganda that is mandated with the provision of agricultural extension and advisory services. The agency helps farmers access improved technologies and benefit from existing value chains. If delegates were to invest in agriculture in Uganda, they would benefit from the services of NAADS. Beyond the services, the agency has a commercialisation fund; funds offered to potential investors on a competitive basis if they invest in particular areas such as value addition. NAADS has some limited funds put aside for private public partnerships mainly in the area of value addition this could be in food, grain or dairy processing for example. He informed delegates that if they came to Uganda the agency will be able to provide information on how to benefit from its services and how it can support investors in their agricultural investments. NAADS can also provide information on potential enterprises. The agency has carried out studies and can provide advice on which enterprises to invest in since the agency has statistics and profitability analyses done in this area.
Ms. Makumbi thanked Dr. Mugasi for his quick presentation and highlighted the fact that the information on public private partnerships was well received by the delegates. She then invited Mr. Deus Muhwezi to tell the delegates the opportunities available to the Diaspora in the agribusiness sector.
Career Summary
Dr. Samuel K. Mugasi is currently the Executive Director for the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS). He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Makerere University. He also holds a Masters Degree in Agricultural Economics from Makerere University and a Masters Degree in Agricultural Development Economics from the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, at The University of Reading in the United Kingdom. He did his undergraduate studies at Makerere University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Upper Second).
Dr. Mugasi has hands-on experience of over 15 years in project management, spanning from 1996 when he worked as Assistant Project Manager for the Dryland Husbandry Project (DHP) in south-western Uganda. DHP was a regional project implemented in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea and Sudan with funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). In 2006, he was a winner of the Makerere University Vice Chancellors Award for the work under the DHP project to improve the livelihoods of the pastoral communities of Mbarara District on south-western Uganda. He also worked as a Researcher with the EU funded collaborative Tsetse Control Project implemented by Makerere University and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.
Later, he worked as M&E Advisor for the Area-based Agricultural Modernization Programme (AAMP) (2004 – 2008), a project in Uganda funded by ADB and IFAD to the tune of USD 32 million in the Ministry of Local Government. After the closure of AAMP, he held the same position of M&E Advisor of the Coordination Unit/Team that developed and subsequently managed three new projects in the same ministry. The projects included; Community Agricultural Infrastructure Improvement Programme – Project 1 (CAIIP-1) co-financed with IFAD & ADB to the tune of USD 66.3 million, Community Agricultural Infrastructure Improvement Programme – Project 2 (CAIIP-2) with ADB funding of US$ 60; and the Markets and Agricultural Trade Improvement Programme (MATIP-1) with ADB funding of USD 60 million. Dr. Mugasi was thereafter promoted to Programme Coordinator of the District Livelihood Support Programme (DLSP), a USD 50.9 million IFAD funded project, and is accordingly part of senior management in the same ministry.
Furthermore, he has lectured Agricultural Economics in the Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at Makerere University for four years. While teaching at Makerere University, he participated in several research studies and also produced some publications.
At private level, Dr. Mugasi is a farmer involved in wild conservation efforts in the environs of Lake Mburo National Park as well as preservation of the Ankole Longhorn Cattle. He is involved in a drive to demonstrate the economic benefits of wildlife-livestock co-existence.
