Inauguration of West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement
A centre for crop improvement, known as the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) has been inaugurated at a ceremony on the Legon campus. WACCI, which was established with an initial five-year project support grant of $5.75 million from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), is to develop the next generation of West and Central African plant breeders with the capacity for innovative solutions that would result in improved varieties to benefit agriculture in the sub-region.
The Centre is expected to train 40 experts in plant breeding in the first
10 years of the programme, with the first cohort of students selected from
Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, enrolled in February 2008.
The WACCI PhD programme in Plant Breeding merges the strengths of two world
class universities, the University of Ghana and Cornell University.
In his inaugural address, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Clifford Nii-Boi Tagoe challenged farmers to increase crop production in order to ensure food security in the sub-region. He noted that the issue of food security was vital to the survival of mankind hence the need to train more human resources in modern methods. "Relying on traditional ways of farming would not ensure food security. There is therefore the need to form an effective collaboration between farmers and experts in plant breeding" he stressed.
The Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Institutions, Miss Elizabeth Ohene, expressed her gratitude to AGRA and other supporters of the programme, and mentioned that plant breeding was a notable area that was worthy of attention by the Government. She hoped that WACCI programmes would not only remain in the laboratories,but would also be translated into the farms of Ghana and the entire sub-region with a significant improvement in food security.
Addressing the gathering, the Director of WACCI, Professor Eric Danquah noted that capacities in plant breeding which include both conventional and modern technologies in sub Saharan Africa were neither sufficient nor properly integrated. He called for support from governments and institutions as well as other stakeholders to enable WACCI to meet the Millennium Development Goal for food security.
Professor Danquah noted that the first class of elite students, apart from sending a message of hope across the region, would also establish the groundwork for building a new generation of African scientists in an effort to stop the "brain drain" of African researchers.
Other speakers included Dr. Joe DeVries, Head of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) seed programme, and a representative of Ghana's Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
Also present at the ceremony were the Registrar of the University, Mr. A. T. Konu, the Provost of the College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences, Prof. B. K. Ahunu, as well as other Senior Members and members of the WACCI Steering Committee.