Born in Ghana, Abigail Tweneboah Asare is the first of three children and married with four kids. She a is Scientist at the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission. She holds MPhil in Nuclear Agriculture (Biotechnology and Mutation) and BSc. Agriculture from School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS)/University of Ghana and University of Cape Coast, Ghana respectively. For her MPhil studies she characterized F1 hybrids of cassava that was obtained from artificial hybridization using morphological and molecular markers. Promising clones of F1 set are currently being advance in breeding pipelines. She has worked at both the molecular and tissue culture laboratories and gained practical skills in molecular marker technology, mutation induction and in vitro techniques on crops such as cassava, pineapple, maize, sweet potatoes, cowpea and plantain.
She considers obtaining admission at WACCI to pursue a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding on DAAD Scholarship, as one of the greatest achievements. Her PhD study seeks to genetically improve orchid varieties and provide planting materials to small scale and commercial enterprises. She appreciates the economic importance of ornamental flowers on the global market and intends to apply induce mutations to boost the flower industry in Ghana and beyond. This newfound interest in the ornamental industry is inspired by the sheer beauty but lucrative aspect of this side of agriculture that is often neglected in research in the developing world; currently ornamentals provide jobs and support livelihoods for many resource poor farmers. She also draws inspiration from the great strides and impact made by predecessor WACCI graduates in agriculture in Africa.
She intends to initiate research and development studies in ornamentals, which is currently lacking in this sector, in order to facilitate informed decision making and provide educational tools for growers, traders, end-users and other policy makers.