The African Plant Breeders of Tomorrow
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Date
2019
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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
Abstract
Advances in agricultural productivity in Africa have lagged, as reflected by the fact
that varieties have often popular with farmers for more than 14 years (Walker et al.
2015). The distribution and adoption of improved crop varieties has been stymied in
part by an insufficient number of plant breeders on the continent. Would-be plant
breeders often chose to pursue MS- and PhD-degree programs in the USA or Europe,
and more than half of these did not return to Africa to practice their profession once
graduated (Ali et al. 2007). The University of Ghana determined to change this by
establishing the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) in 2007, in
partnership with Cornell University, to offer quality education and training in
Genetics and Plant Breeding to African students. Supported by the Alliance for a
Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) as part of a strategy to launch a Green
Revolution in Africa, WACCI aimed to create a sizeable, innovative workforce to
increase agricultural productivity and ensure food security, especially for the people of
west and central Africa. Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, a visionary leader, was
appointed to establish and direct WACCI. He determined to create a pathway from
BS to MS to PhD in plant breeding at the University of Ghana to serve students from
both English-speaking and French-speaking countries and to attract both men and
women into the program, to establish WACCI as a leading institution for
plant breeding education on the global stage.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
African, Brain Drain, farmers