Dr. Akira Kato, a Senior Scientist at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organisation (NARO), Sapporo, Japan, has joined the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement as a Visiting Scientist.

He will give lectures on Molecular Genetics (Plant Genetics, WACI 617) to WACCI first year students and also, deliver a module on marker assisted breeding in rice to second year students.

Dr. Kato visits Crop Research Institute (CRI), Kumasi in mid-January to hold discussions with Mr. Maxwell Asante, a third year student at WACCI working on “Breeding Rice for Grain Quality in Ghana; Genetic Studies of Appearance, Cooking and Eating Traits” for his PhD research.

Dr. Kato’s fellowship (four weeks in January 2010 and three months in 2011) is part of a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) grant to the Centre.