Dr Silim Nahdy, who was appointed to the post of Executive Director
of AFAAS after a competitive international recruitment process, took up
his appointment on 1 November 2011.
Dr Nahdy holds a BSc in Zoology and Botany from Makerere University
(Uganda), an MSc in Entomology from Khartoum University (Sudan) and a
PhD from the University of Reading (UK). He comes to AFAAS with a wealth
of experience gained in a career spanning over 30 years and embracing
university teaching, scientific research in crop post-harvest systems,
as well as planning and managing national agricultural research and
advisory services. He led the team that designed the National
Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) of Uganda which he subsequently
led as the Executive Director for a period of 10 years. Prior to taking
up the NAADS post he was the Director of Kawanda Agricultural Research
Institute – one of the Uganda’s premier research institutes.
During his tenure at NAADS he was at the forefront of efforts to
mobilise agricultural advisory services (AAS) in Africa for purposes of
sharing experiences, seeking common voice in agricultural development
forums, and influencing national, regional and international policy
agendas for enhancing the effectiveness of AAS.
Dr Nahdy was the inaugural Chairman of the Governing Board of the
Sub-Saharan African Network of Agricultural Advisory Services (SSANAAS)
in 2004 and continued to serve as Chairman through its transformation
into AFAAS in 2006. Through his efforts, both SSANAAS and AFAAS were
hosted and resourced by NAADS until funding was provided by the European
Union to establish institutional and organisational structures in May
2010.
Dr Nahdy is currently the Chairman of the Global Forum for Rural
Advisory Services (GFRAS), the global body that brings together
practitioners of AAS from all over the world.
At his inauguration, Dr Nahdy said, ‘I hope that my leadership will
propel AAS as an organisation that enhances the networking of AAS actors
for the purposes of contributing to continental agricultural
development agendas – most notably the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture
Development Programme (CAADP).
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