Accra, Dec. 18,GNA-Dr Denis Tumwesigye Kyetere has been appointed as the Executive Director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and will assume office on January 1, 2012.
Dr Kyetere, who is a national of Uganda, is a Geneticist and a Plant Breeder, with a PhD from the Ohio State University (OSU), Ohio, USA; an MSc in plant breeding from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth College, UK and a BSc (Hons) in Botany and Zoology from Makerere University, Uganda.
The newly appointed Executive Director will bring on board his rich experience in agricultural research and management gained from working with both public and private sector partnership projects at Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO).

AATF Board Chair, Professor Idah Sithole-Niang, who announced this, said the Executive Director’s appointment will be of great benefit to AATF whose mission involves working through partnerships to deliver on its key mandate of accessing and delivering affordable agricultural technologies for use by smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
Some of Dr Kyetere’s notable scientific achievements include being part of the team that identified and mapped the maize streak virus gene 1 (MSV1) that confers tolerance in maize to maize streak virus disease.
He was also part of the team that developed the maize variety; Longe 1, that was the second successful maize variety to be produced and grown in Uganda, occupying about 60% of the total maize production during 1999.
Dr Kyetere previously served as the Director General at NARO, the overall organ managing the national agricultural research system of Uganda. He began his career as a scientific officer and maize agronomist in 1979 at NARO’s Kawanda Research Station.
He later worked as a maize breeder on several projects in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT).

He later served at NARO in different capacities including, head of the maize programme, programme leader, cereals and director of research at Coffee Research Institute. During his tenure, the institute developed and delivered to farmers wilt resistant clones of robusta coffee.
Dr Kyetere’s leadership and management experience spans various organisations, including the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) where he served as chairman of the Board.
He also chaired the Eastern and Central Africa Maize and Wheat Research Network (ECAMAW) and the Coffee Research Network (CORNET) both of ASARECA. He has also attended a number of leadership programs including the Harvard Business School Senior Leadership Program in the USA.
In an acceptance speech, Dr Kyetere said he was privileged to be joining AATF and looks forward to working with the team to help address the constraints facing smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr Kyetere will be taking over from Dr Jacob Mignouna, the organisation’s Technical Operations Director, who has been acting in the position during the Board’s selection process.
Dr Kyetere has published widely in peer-reviewed scientific journals, mainly in his area of genetics and plant breeding.
He holds several honors, among which is the 2008 International Alumni Award from The College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, OSU, Ohio, USA.
The African Agricultural Technology Foundation ( AATF ) is a not-for-profit organisation that facilitates and promotes public/private partnerships for the access and delivery of appropriate proprietary agricultural technologies for use by resource-poor smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan African.