Founder and CEO of leading agribusiness firm, Agri-Impact Group, Dr. (h.c) Daniel Fahene Acquaye, has been appointed Chairman of the CSIR–Crops Research Institute (CRI) Management Board.

He was officially inducted into office on Thursday, February 19, 2026, in Kumasi.

In this role, Dr. Acquaye will lead an eight-member Board, providing strategic direction and governance oversight to one of Ghana’s foremost agricultural research institutions.

The board will, among other things, set and approve research priorities and policies, provide budget and financial management oversight, promote applied research and commercialisation, foster private sector partnership and enhance national visibility.

Dr. Acquaye’s appointment is seen as a strategic step toward strengthening research–industry collaboration and accelerating the commercialisation of agricultural innovation.

The Management Board includes:

Dr. Daniel Fahene Acquaye – CEO, Agri-Impact Group; Agribusiness Expert (Chairperson)
Dr. Baffour Asafo-Agyei – Retired Crops Research Scientist and Plant Breeder with local and international experience (Member)
Mr. Kojo Akoto Boateng – Consultant, Farmer, and Media Personality (Member)
Dr. Solomon Ansah – Director of Crop Services, MoFA (Member)
Prof. Marian Quain – Deputy Director-General, CSIR (Member)
Dr. Collins Tay – Director, CSIR–Soil Research Institute (Member)
Prof. Maxwell Darko Asante – Director, CSIR-CRI (Member)
Mr. Emmanuel Afriyie – Lawyer and Head of Administration, CSIR-CRI (Secretary to the Management Board)

About Dr. Daniel Fahene Acquaye

A distinguished agribusiness development and value chain expert, Dr. Daniel F. Acquaye brings on board over three decades of experience in enterprise development, youth empowerment, and agricultural transformation across Africa and the Caribbean.

He has consulted for leading global institutions, including the Mastercard Foundation, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), USAID, ECOWAS, GIZ, AGRA, IFAD, UNDP, the African Development Bank, and the African Union, among others, with assignments spanning over 30 countries.

A key highlight of his career has been advancing Ghana’s medicinal and natural plant products onto the global stage through science-based and market-driven partnerships.

Through his subsidiary, Agribusiness in Sustainable Natural African Plant Products (ASNAPP), which began as a USAID-funded initiative operating in five African countries, he established strong collaborations with academic and research institutions such as Rutgers University (USA), Stellenbosch University (South Africa), KNUST, and other partners.

These partnerships led to ethnobotanical research, the establishment of a Genebank at KNUST, the cultivation of Cryptolepis for the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine, and the commercialisation of products such as kombo butter, Lippia herbal tea, grains of paradise, Xylopia, miracle berries, and Artemisia annua.

Within four years, exports of medicinal plants under the initiative increased from $3 million to $25 million, significantly expanding Ghana’s presence in international markets.

Dr. Acquaye also pioneered greenhouse farming models as part of a modern, climate-smart agribusiness strategy. Through ASNAPP and later Agri-Impact Ventures (now Agri-Impact Group), greenhouse production systems were introduced and scaled to support women, youth, and persons with disabilities, supplying high-quality vegetables to premium domestic and international markets.

Today, Agri-Impact Group manages greenhouse farms under its Fresh Logistics subsidiary, promoting technology adoption, year-round production, and youth employment.

In recognition of his exceptional contribution to youth empowerment and agribusiness development, he was recently honoured by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with a Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) degree.

Under his leadership, Agri-Impact Group has mobilised over $100 million in agricultural project funding in the past five years, employs more than 150 staff, and is currently leading a transformative Mastercard Foundation–supported programme aimed at creating over 300,000 jobs for youth in Ghana, alongside supporting a World Bank–funded SME growth initiative in Jamaica.

His company has also partnered with the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry (MoTAI) and other sector players to develop a National Agribusiness Policy for Ghana, and with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to develop a Poultry Masterplan and a policy framework for the rice sector.

Dr. Acquaye’s new role at CSIR–Crops Research Institute positions him at the intersection of research, commercialisation, governance, and national development, an opportunity to further drive innovation, strengthen institutional performance, and advance Ghana’s green growth and agricultural transformation agenda.