Dr. Peter Beine has been appointed as the Executive Director of the National Animal Genetics Resources Centre and DataBank (NAGRC&DB) after serving a full year in acting capacity and posting great results.
The appointment was made by the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), Hon. Frank Tumwebaze on the recommendation of the NAGRC&DB Board of Directors, a Ministry statement has confirmed; adding that the appointment was made in accordance with the legal advice of the Attorney General.
His appointment, according to the Ministry statement, comes with a set of policy and service performance targets the agency must deliver in line with the NDP3 development goals over the next five years.
Minister Tumwebaze, while speaking about the appointment, emphasized the critical role of stock farms in the improvement of the national livestock herd and the active participation of NAGRC&DB in farmer education and transformation of the sector from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.
“During my visit of the cattle corridor and in the East, I noted with concern the poor performance of some of our cattle breeds in the community and I have tasked the team to ensure that their outputs are for the betterment of our farmers in the community. This will be achieved through continuous farmer training sessions and community interfaces,” Tumwebaze said.
On receiving the news of his appointment, Dr. Beine pledged to work together with his team to enable the Ministry take meaningful strides towards achieving their mission of transforming agriculture from subsistence to commercial.
“The performance targets for NAGRC&DB are already clarified in the Agro-Industrialization Program Implementation Action of the NDP3; the Minister has further given me policy performance targets to deliver in the current medium term. My team’s work is cut out and we pledge to deliver on our contribution towards the transformation of the sector from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture,” Dr. Beine said.
The Minister has further set out performance targets for NAGRC&DB leadership under Dr. Beine that include; centre farms becoming knowledge transfer centres to farmers and general private sector actors, reducing the animal import bill to zero, develop a licensing and regulatory framework for animal breeders which will be used to support, license and regulate private animal breeders, Breed, multiply and avail for uptake at subsidized prices, sufficient numbers of breeding stock on all its center farms and ranches, effective conservation of all indigenous animal genetic resources, produce safe animal feed enough to meet its internal organizational needs and for availing to private farmers for uptake at subsidized prices, roll out of 18 functional hatcheries in each sub-region and also cover the country with animal genetic improvement services such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer.
Who is Dr. Peter Beine?
Dr. Beine has been the Acting Executive Director at NAGRC&DB for over one year. Previously, Dr Beine was the Assistant Commissioner for Agricultural Planning and Development at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries of Uganda.
He has also worked as a research scientist and manager with NARO and ASARECA and has extensive experience in international agricultural development project management with the World Bank, UNEP/GEF and CABI International.
A doctoral graduate of the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom with a PhD in Agricultural Economics with a focus on agricultural production and productivity economics, Dr. Beine also holds a Master’s Degree in Agriculture from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture from Makerere University.
Dr. Beine gained a lot of ranching experience and livestock development from the sophisticated livestock industries of South Africa, UK and Ireland where he has participated in several international livestock development events.
He is an accomplished administrator, Planner, and livestock development Expert with over 15 years of hands-on practice in both private and public sectors.
Achievements in NAGRC&DB during Dr. Beine’s one year of Acting capacity
- Unprecedented increase of Non-Tax-Revenue collections from the constant UGX 700M since the start of the agency to UGX 3.88 Billion within just 7 months of change of leadership. This was vital in the wake of fiscal contractions arising out of the COVID 19 pandemic when government suffered severe budget constraints.
- The government ranches and farms have been revived and are now performing very well. Conservation programs for indigenous local breeds as well as community animal breeding programs are now fully functioning.
- Significant increase in the number of elite livestock breeding stock bred and multiplied on NAGRC&DB ranches and availed to the public for uptake
- On account of the turn-around meritorious performance, NAGRC&DB was, in December 2020, voted the best livestock agency in Uganda through a process led by NPA, OPM and H.E The President and Vice President’s Offices.
- Against the backdrop of his performance, the Board of Directors appraised and unanimously recommended appointment of Dr. Beine as substantive Executive Director for NAGRC&DB on account of meritorious performance.
