A three-member delegation from the Syngenta Company of The Netherlands paid a visit to the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) to familiarize themselves with the agricultural agronomic practices and economies in the country.
The team, made up of Mr. Kingsley Adade of Syngenta Ghana, Mr. Bruce McKenzie, Syngenta Specialist Crops Manager and Mr. John Van Brussel, the Seed Portfolio Manager Africa & Middle East at Syngenta, engaged in discussions with Prof. Tongoona, the Associate Director, Breeding Programmes, that bordered on exploring commercially viable opportunities for both institutions, sharing progress made in preparing the short training courses for Seed Breeders and most importantly, to understand what WACCI does on the ground.
The Centre has over the last year played host to many delegations who come to explore opportunities for collaboration. Prof. Danquah, Director of WACCI, speaking at the meeting outlined areas for cooperation between the two institutions. Mr. Bruce McKenzie expressed Syngenta’s interest and opined that the company was ready to explore avenues for collaboration with WACCI.
The West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement is currently the largest Centre for PhD Plant Breeding education in Africa. It was established in 2007 as a partnership between the University of Ghana and Cornell University with initial funding from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
The Syngenta team WACCI staff and students at the WACCI farm