Newly inducted Director of the Crops Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Professor Maxwell Darko Asante is requesting the government to operationalize the National Research Fund.

Parliament in 2020 passed the research fund act (Act 1056) to provide funding for growth of Ghana’s Innovation eco-system and research development, but this is yet to materialize.

Research in Ghana, though contributing to national development, has not sufficiently informed policy and decision owing to lack of adequate funds to support local research.

Speaking at his induction ceremony, Director of the Crops Research Institute, Prof. Maxwell Darko Asante, bemoaned the inadequate funds for research, urging the government to operationalize the National Research Fund enacted five years ago.

Prof Asante believes with such internal funds, when instituted, would enhance research and development to fit into the country’s development agenda, especially in the agriculture sector.

“I call on the government to urgently operationalize the National Research Fund (Act 1056), which was passed by Parliament in 2020. In addition, I recommend that the government routinely commission CSIR and the universities to solve problems related to its agricultural policy. I also urge consistency in Ghana’s agricultural policy,” he urged.
He added: “To multilateral and bilateral donors and the private sector, we call for enhanced investment in R&D to solve our problems. To the private sector and industrialists, we are ready and able to develop technologies tailored to your needs”.

The new director has since his journey as a research scientist focused on developing rice varieties in the country with his current research aimed at building climate-smart rice varieties.

Prof. Asante further highlighted his vision for the institute, including positioning it as the leading agriculture research institute on the African continent.

“My vision, which is rooted in the current strategic plans of CSIR corporate and CSIR-CRI, is to position CSIR-CRI as a premier center of excellence in African agricultural research,” he said.
He outlined his strategies to be adopted in achieving the goal including Strategic improvements for enhanced R&D delivery, Increased mobilization of resources, Enhancement of corporate image, visibility, and technology dissemination, Strengthening relationships with stakeholders, and Enhancement of staff well-being and institutional systems.

Director-General of the CSIR, Professor Paul Boso urged the new director to live up to his vision for the institute while pledging support for his administration.