Eric Yirenkyi Danquah was announced the winner of the 2022 Africa Food Prize on 7th September 2022 at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) Summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
He was celebrated for his outstanding expertise, leadership and grantsmanship skills that led to the establishment and development of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) as a world class centre for training plant breeders in Africa.
Every year, the Africa Food Prize initiative calls for nomination of outstanding individuals or institutions that are leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa. The US $100,000 prize celebrates Africans who are taking control of Africa’s agriculture agenda. It puts a spotlight on bold initiatives and technical innovations that can be replicated across the continent to create a new era of food security and economic opportunity for all Africans.
Dr. Danquah was chosen from a field of 376 nominees from 44 countries by a preeminent panel of judges with experience and leadership in African agriculture. All judges are members of the Africa Food Prize committee led by H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (former president of Nigeria), Dr. Vera Songwe, Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Mr. Birama Sidibe, Prof. Sheryl Hendriks and Dr Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli.
All nominations are reviewed using Africa Food Prize criteria:
- Contribution to reducing poverty and hunger and/or improving food and nutrition security in measurable terms
- Contribution to providing a vital source of income and/or employment in measurable terms
- Potential for transformative change through scalability, replication, and sustainability
- Increased awareness and cooperation among African audiences and organizations
Danquah was chosen from a field of 376 nominees from 44 countries by a preeminent panel of judges with experience and leadership in African agriculture. All judges are members of the Africa Food Prize committee led by H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (former president of Nigeria), Dr. Vera Songwe, Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Mr. Birama Sidibe, Prof. Sheryl Hendriks and Dr Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli.
Dr. Danquah is a Ghanaian plant geneticist, professor, founding director of the WACCI and former director of the Biotechnology Centre at the University of Ghana in the capital Accra. He founded the WACCI in 2007 at the university with the aim of training a new generation of plant breeders to develop improved varieties of staple crops in West and Central Africa.
Through Dr. Danquah’s leadership, WACCI attracted more than $30M US dollars of research and development funding and trained more than 120 PhD and 49 MPhil students in seed science and technology from 19 African countries over a period of 16 years. This led to more than 60 improved seed varieties that are in use in Africa, including superior maize hybrid varieties, which will help boost yield for farmers and contribute towards food and nutrition security.
Today, the institution boasts of a new molecular biology/tissue culture laboratory, a bioinformatics platform, and cutting-edge university farms including a US$300,000 ultra-modern screen house for controlled experiments.
This year’s winner selection reflects the importance of promoting science and technology as tools to develop solutions for sustainable food systems.
During the award ceremony, former Nigerian president and Africa Food Prize Chairman H.E. Olusegun Obasanjo said:
“His achievements show that we cannot ignore the important role of science and technology in the transformation of food systems. Scientists like Dr. Danquah can help the continent in creating climate resilient seed varieties that can withstand climate change and variability. His success can also inform policy makers on the best strategies and plans to boost food production and security in the continent.”
Through Dr. Danquah’s leadership, WACCI attracted more than $30M US dollars of research and development funding and trained more than 120 PhD and 49 MPhil students in seed science and technology from 19 African countries over a period of 16 years. This led to more than 60 improved seed varieties that are in use in Africa.
Dr. Danquah acknowledged the challenge ahead, noting the instructive theme for this year’s AGRF is Grow-Nourish-Reward – Bold Actions for Resilient Food Systems. “Our work at the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) is a testament of what smart investments in quality plant breeding education in African universities can do. We are developing the next generation of gamechangers, positioning the continent for global competitiveness in the next decade,” he said.
He added that it will take the work of a critical mass of plant breeders in every nation on our continent to ensure the future of food and nutrition security and improved livelihoods for socio-economic development in the decades ahead.
The Prize has been running for 15 years. Previous winners include Dr. André Bationo, a researcher from Burkina Faso; Dr. Emma Naluyima, a small holder farmer in Uganda; Baba Dioum, a policy champion and agricultural farmer from Senegal; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Professor Ruth Oniang’o, leading academic expert in food security and nutrition from Kenya, among others.
More information here: https://africafoodprize.org/
Elizabeth Mwaniki is Advocacy and Communications Advisor, AGRA.
