News Highlights

Prof. Eric Y. Danquah, Founding Director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana has been elected as a Fellow of The African Academy of Sciences (AAS).

The announcement of the 2025 AAS Fellowship cohort was made during the Science Forum South Africa 2025, following a highly competitive and rigorous selection process conducted by the AAS Governing Council.

Prof. Sanatu Mustapha Alidu, an alumna of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana, has led a team of researchers at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Nyankpala Campus, to develop six new climate-smart, drought-tolerant cowpea varieties. This marks the first crop varieties ever released by UDS since its establishment over 30 years.

The African Plant Breeders Association (APBA) recently conferred a Meritorious Service Award on renowned Crop Scientist and 2022 Africa Food Prize Laureate, Prof. Eric Y. Danquah, Founding Director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) at the University of Ghana.

The award, according to the Association, recognises Prof. Danquah’s exceptional leadership and outstanding contribution to the establishment and growth of the APBA. It also acknowledges his pioneering efforts in championing agricultural innovation and advancing plant breeding science across Africa.

Ms. Omotola Dorcas Olaoye, a PhD candidate at theWest Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana, has been awarded the prestigious National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB)–African Plant Breeders Association (APBA) Norman Borlaug Awardfor outstanding PhD students in Africa.

The award was presented at the 4th APBA Conference, held at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, where the International Borlaug Scholars NAPB–APBA Mentoring Programme was officially launched.

Founding Director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) at the University of Ghana, Prof. Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, is calling on the global community to support Africa’s scientific renaissance through reparative investment.

The 2022 Africa Food Prize Laureate says such reparative investment should include debt cancellation for higher-education loans, endowments for African universities, and the creation of an African Talent Fund for Plant Breeding.

Three years after the Founding Director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) at the University of Ghana, Professor Eric Danquah, won the 2022 Africa Food Prize, a former student of the Centre has now taken the 2025 honour.

At the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum in Dakar, Senegal, the Africa Food Prize Committee announced that WACCI alumna and founder of GoSeed Ltd in Nigeria, Dr. Mercy Elohor Diebiru-Ojo, and Professor Mary Abukutsa Onyango of Kenya had been named joint winners of the 2025 Africa Food Prize.

The West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana, in collaboration with Zhejiang University, China, will host a research seminar on at 9 a.m. on Thursday, August 21, 2025, at WACCI. The event forms part of the China–Africa Partnership Institute Project, a joint initiative between the two institutions.

The delegation from Zhejiang University will be led by Prof. Qingyao Shu, Professor of Breeding and Biotechnology at the College of Agriculture and Biotechnology (CAB), Zhejiang University.

The West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Alexander Asante-Atuobi as Team Lead, Finance.

Prof. Eric Danquah, Founding Director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), has urged the government to invest in universities, emphasising that the country cannot achieve sustainable development without strong academic and research institutions.

Fifteen students from the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) graduated from the University of Ghana on July 25, 2025, during a ceremony held at the Great Hall of the University. The graduating class included three PhD students and twelve MPhil students.