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Who we are
The West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) is a partnership between the University of Ghana (UG) and Cornell University, USA that was established in June 2007 with funding from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) at the University of Ghana to train Plant Breeders in Africa working on the improvement of African crops train in local environments for farmers in Africa. The Centre has expanded its scope to train Seed Scientists in Africa.
What we do
WACCI is training Plant Breeders and Seed Scientists for the sub-region on classical plant breeding and complementary molecular biology technologies needed for efficient development of superior and adaptable crops. WACCI is one institution among many that are working towards eradicating food insecurity in the sub-region through the training of the people needed to breed and to improve access to high quality seeds to improve food security crops for the rural farmers who currently cultivate unimproved low yielding varieties. WACCI is contributing the needed human resources for the strengthening breeding and seed science programmes of the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in SSA.
News Highlights
The West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) at the University of Ghana has established a state-of-the-art Digital Educational Content Production Studio in the Centre’s multipurpose building.
The foundation for this transformative initiative was laid in 2020, when the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, then Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, nominated WACCI to collaborate with the prestigious IDEA League.
Dr. Joseph Adjebeng-Danquah, an alumnus of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), has been appointed as the Deputy Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI).
Dr. Danquah was a member of WACCI’s third PhD cohort, enrolling in 2010 and graduating in 2015. His doctoral research focused on “Genetic Studies of Physiological and Morphological Traits Associated with Drought Tolerance in Cassava Genotypes.”
Prof. Maxwell Darko Asante, an alumnus of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), has been appointed as the Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Crops Research Institute (CSIR-CRI). Prof. Asante was a member of WACCI’s first cohort of the PhD in Plant Breeding and has since become a prominent figure in agricultural research and innovation.
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Student Population
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Alumni
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Events
Apr 12
