Ghana

IITA has been active in the Republic of Ghana since 1979, when it established a working relationship with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Crops Research Institute (CRI) and other government agencies to improve agriculture in the country. As a result of these collaborative efforts, improved quality of varieties of maize, cowpea and soybean have been released to farmers for planting.

The Institute’s research on banana and plantain in partnership with CSIR and the University of Ghana has led to a valuable new knowledge in the cultivation of the crops in Ghana. With the assistance of IITA, a lot of research projects are being carried out in the country. Some of them are African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI), and Purdue Improved Crop Storage project (PICS3) among a host of others.

In addition, IITA has trained many young Ghanaian scientists for Masters and doctorate degrees within and outside the country. IITA has two offices in Ghana: in Accra and Tamale.