Daniel Fahene Acquaye, founder and CEO of Agri-Impact Group, has been appointed Chairman of the Management Board of the CSIR–Crops Research Institute (CRI). He was officially inducted on Thursday, February 19, 2026, in Kumasi.
As Chairman, he will lead an eight-member board responsible for guiding the institute’s research priorities, overseeing budgets, promoting applied research, strengthening private sector partnerships, and enhancing national visibility.
His appointment is expected to deepen collaboration between research and industry and accelerate the commercialisation of agricultural innovations.
The Management Board includes experts from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, CSIR, academia, agribusiness, and legal administration. Members include Dr. Baffour Asafo-Agyei, Mr. Kojo Akoto Boateng, Dr. Solomon Ansah, Prof. Marian Quain, Dr. Collins Tay, Prof. Maxwell Darko Asante, and Mr. Emmanuel Afriyie, who serves as Board Secretary.
Mr Acquaye brings more than 30 years of experience in agribusiness, enterprise development, and youth empowerment across Africa and the Caribbean. He has worked with global institutions including the Mastercard Foundation, USAID, MCC, ECOWAS, GIZ, AGRA, IFAD, UNDP, the African Development Bank, and the African Union.
Through his initiatives, including ASNAPP and Agri-Impact Group, he has advanced Ghana’s medicinal and natural plant products internationally, established a Genebank at KNUST, introduced greenhouse farming models, and promoted climate-smart agriculture. Under his leadership, exports of medicinal plants grew from $3 million to $25 million, and Agri-Impact Group now manages greenhouse farms supplying high-quality vegetables to domestic and international markets while creating jobs for women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
Mr Acquaye has mobilised over $100 million in agricultural project funding in the past five years and currently leads programmes supported by the Mastercard Foundation and the World Bank aimed at creating hundreds of thousands of youth jobs in Ghana and supporting SME growth in Jamaica.
He has also contributed to national policy development, including the National Agribusiness Policy, a Poultry Masterplan, and a framework for the rice sector.
Mr Acquaye’s appointment at CSIR–CRI positions him to further drive innovation, strengthen institutional performance, and support Ghana’s agricultural transformation and green growth agenda.
