Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, the Founding Director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), University of Ghana, has been named in the 2024 list of the 100 Most Reputable Africans.
He is a Professor of Plant Genetics at the Department of Crop Science, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana.
The list of the 100 Most Reputable Africans is evidence of the tenacity and resiliency of the African continent.
Reputation Poll is an annual list of the continent’s most respected and admired individuals.
This year’s list features a diverse group of individuals from various sectors, including politics, business, entertainment, and human rights advocacy.
Impact, visibility, and integrity make up the selection criteria.
Prof Danquah is a recipient of the University of Ghana Distinguished Award for Meritorious Service, 2013, a member of the IAEA’s Standing Advisory Group on Nuclear Applications, the 2018 Laureate, Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences (GCHERA) World Agriculture Prize and the President of the African Plant Breeders Association.
He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia and a Visiting Scientist at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University.
He was a Visiting Scientist at the BBSRC-Long Ashton Research Institute, UK from 2000 to 2001.
Currently, he serves as the Director of the WACCI, established in the University of Ghana in 2007 due to his shared vision and leadership to train a new generation of plant breeders to develop improved varieties of the staple crops of West and Central Africa.
Of the 10 notable Ghanaians who made the 2024 list of 100 Most Reputable Africans include Apostle Eric Nyamekye, the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, the biggest Pentecostal denomination in West Africa; and Dr George Akuffo Dampare, the Inspector General of Police.
Others are Drolor Bosso Adamtey I, the Suapolor (pathfinder) of the Se (Shai) Traditional Area in the Dangme West District, and the first Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, and Prof Ebenezer Bonyah, an Associate Professor at the Department of Mathematics Education, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Kumasi.
The rest are Dr Ladisias Prosper Agbesi, Kudi Financial Services’ Group Chairman;
Pastor Mensa Otabil, the Founder of International Central Gospel Church; and Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of the Catholic Church.
The list also includes Madam Roberta Annan, a Ghanaian businesswoman and the Founder of the African Fashion Foundation; and Madam Sophia Karen Edem Ackuaku, an outstanding Ghanaian woman with a personal objective of contributing her quota to maximizing profit in every environment she finds herself.
The list draws attention to the accomplishments of people who are trying to change the world and make a better life for others.
It serves as a source of inspiration for all Africans and a reminder of the numerous gifted and accomplished people who are changing the globe.
GNA