The West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) held a send-off dinner on August 10, 2024, to honour Prof. Pangirayi Tongoona, Associate Director of Breeding Programmes, as he concluded a decade of exceptional service at the Centre.
The event was attended by staff, students and alumni of WACCI, as well as colleagues and friends of Prof. Tongoona, who gathered to celebrate his outstanding contributions to WACCI and the field of plant breeding across Africa.
In his address, Prof. Eric Danquah, Founding Director of WACCI, praised Prof. Tongoona for his dedication over the past decade. He recounted how, during a critical time when WACCI needed a practical breeder to support the graduation of its first cohort of students in 2013, Prof. Tongoona, then Deputy Director at the African Centre for Crop Improvement at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, stepped in for a two-month stint. A pivotal conversation in South Africa led to Prof. Tongoona relocating to WACCI in 2014, where he became a Visiting Scholar until 2017 and remained from 2024 as a full Professor, supervising PhD students and teaching postgraduate courses. Under his leadership, WACCI successfully released three hybrid maize varieties in 2017. Prof. Danquah also commended him for his commitment to mentoring early-career scientists and training farmers, seed growers, and extension officers as part of WACCI’s Early Seed Generation Project, funded by AGRA.
Prof. Eric Danquah
In his remarks, Prof. Tongoona expressed his deep gratitude to WACCI’s faculty and staff for their support throughout his tenure. He highlighted the impact WACCI has allowed him to make in the plant breeding industry, noting, "I have had the privilege of supervising about 69 PhD projects, with 56 graduates, as well as numerous MPhil students at the Centre." He emphasized that with continued support from governments, WACCI’s work could be scaled up to benefit all of Africa, given the progress and systems already in place.
Prof. Pangirayi Tongoona
Tributes were paid to Prof. Tongoona, by WACCI Board Chair, Emeritus Professor Ronnie Coffman of Cornell University, Dr.Joe DeVries, Dr. Rurafo Madakadze, and WACCI faculty, staff, alumni and students.
In recognition of his service, Prof. Tongoona received gifts and citations from WACCI and his friends at the Legon Tennis Club. Dr. Jacinta Adoma Opoku, a WACCI graduate, expressed her heartfelt gratitude, acknowledging Prof. Tongoona’s significant influence on her academic journey and personal development.
Presentation from WACCI
Presentation from Legon Tennis Club
Presentation from Dr. Jacinta Adoma Opoku
