Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, Founding Director, West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana, has been appointed to serve on the Independent Advisory Committee of the Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA).

A statement issued by the University of Ghana and made available to the Ghana News Agency, said Prof Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana, in a note congratulated Prof Danquah on his appointment.

She expressed confidence that the Independent Advisory Committee of the Centre would benefit immensely from his extensive leadership and professional experience in agricultural systems.

"Congratulations to Professor Danquah on this high-level appointment. The University is proud of your continuous successes," the statement said.

CALA is an initiative of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) designed to support established and emerging leaders in government, private sector and civil society spearheading high-priority country-level agricultural strategies across eight initial countries (Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Malawi).

The initiative is a 16-month advanced leadership programme starting in August 2021.

The role of the Committee is to provide high-level guidance on the quality, inclusivity, relevance and rigour of CALA's curriculum to build it into a centre of excellence intended to support sector leaders to deliver on their priorities.

The statement said Professor Danquah was joining the Independent Advisory Committee of the Centre as an Agricultural Systems Expert representing universities in Africa.

Other members of the Committee include: Dr Apollos Nwafor (Vice President, Policy and State Capability-AGRA, Kenya), Mr Jonathan Said (Lead, Inclusive Growth and Private Sector Development Practice-Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, USA), and Professor Richard Mkandawire (Chair - National Planning Commission, Malawi).

The rest are Dr Jemima Njuki (Africa Regional Head – International Food Policy Research Institute, Kenya), Madam Bongiwe Njobe (Founder and Executive Director – ZANAC, South Africa) and Professor Anthony Whitbread (Research Programme Director for Innovation Systems for the Drylands – ICRISAT, India).