Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, Ph.D.

•  Jul 2008 
  National Award - Officer of the Order of the Volta
•  Dec 2000 
  Recognised by staff and fellows of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana, for long, loyal and me
•  Jun 2000 
  Scroll of Honour presented by staff of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research
•  Dec 1999 
  Included in the Outstanding People of the 20th Century for outstanding contribution to developmen
•  Jul 1999 
  Distinguished leadership award for outstanding contribution to contemporary society from the America
•  Dec 1998 
  Recognised by the Kumawu Traditional Council for long, loyal, and meritorious service to Kumawu Trad
•  Oct 1997 
  Special Guest – World Food Prize Ceremony, Des Moines, Iowa

Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, a native of Ghana took up an appointment with IFPRI on November 6, 2006 after a long career with University of Ghana, Legon where he rose to become full professor in 1997 and vice-chancellor (chief executive) in 2002. Before then he was the director of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of University of Ghana from 1997 to 2002. He has also worked with the World Bank, Ghana Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Ghana Cocoa Board.

He has researched widely on economic development issues and policies and published extensively in the areas of agriculture, international trade, health and nutrition. He has participated in the development of various agricultural and poverty reduction strategies in Ghana. From 1992, he participated in the research-capacity-building-dialogue activities of SADAOC (sustainable food security in central west Africa) Foundation and became the chairman of its management board from 1996 to 2006. He has collaborated with the Centre for World Food Studies at the Free University of Amsterdam, the Centre for Development Research of University of Bonn and the Institute of Development Studies of University of Sussex on various research activities.

He has been active in the International Association of Agricultural Economists of which he was associate editor of its journal, Agricultural Economics for eight years. He has served on many boards and committees in Ghana including the central bank and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research; and internationally including the UN University (Institute of Environment and Human Security), the Sustainability Innovation Council of Switzerland, Building Africa’s Scientific and Institutional Capacity for Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (BASIC), and the Global Open Food and Agriculture University.

He has won many awards for his contribution to development research and community development. He is a fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Ghana Association of Certified Entrepreneurs. He holds a BSc (Honours) degree from University of Ghana, an MSc from University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and PhD from University of Missouri-Columbia, USA.

APPOINTMENTS
2001 – 2006: Member, Cocoa Sector Marketing Committee
2001 – 2006: Member, Board of Directors, IKAM Limited
2001 – 2006: Chairman, Searchlight (Policy Advocacy Group)
2001 – 2002: Member, MIMAP Research Advisory Board
2000 – 2002: Member, National Roll Back Malaria Coordinating Committee
1999 – 2001: Member, Steering Committee for research project on cost of family Planning and Reproductive Health Services, National Population Council
1999 – 2001: Member, National Census Technical Committee
1999 – 2000: Member, Task Force on Health Inequalities
1999 – 2000: Chairman, Poverty Measurement and Monitoring Group
1999 – 2000: Assessor, the Margaret Opferkuch Annual Award for Innovation in the Cocoa Industry in Ghana, Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences
1998 – 2006: Member, Sub-committee on the economy, Board of Directors, Bank of Ghana
1998 – 2006: Member, Board of Directors, Bank of Ghana
1998 – 2002: External Examiner, University of Cape Coast
1997 – 2000: Member, Technical Advisory Committee on Research and Evaluation, National Population Council
1997 – 1999: Member, Regional Advisory Board, IFPRI 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment, West Africa Network
1996 – 2006: Chairman, SADAOC Foundation Management Board
1996 – 1999: Member, Thematic Working Group on Poverty Reduction
1996 – 1999: Member, National Technical Committee on Malaria
1995 – 2002: Member, Technical Committee on Poverty
1995 – 2002: Cocoa Pricing Review Committee
1995 – 2002: Associate Editor, Agricultural Economics, the Journal of the International Association of Agricultural Economists
1995 – 2000: Master, Commonwealth Hall
1994 – 1999: External Examiner, University for Development Studies
1992 – 1996: Chairman, Reseau Ghaneen of SADAOC Foundation
1992 – 1995: Vice-Master, Commonwealth Hall
1992 – 1995: President, Senior Common Room, Commonwealth Hall
1991 – 1995: Member Advisory Board, Nigerian School of Economics
1991 – 1995: Commonwealth Expert Committee on Poverty Alleviation
1987 – 2006: Member, Board of Directors, Show-Me Enterprise Ltd.
1986 – 1989: Senior Tutor, Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana
1985 – 1988: Moderator, Statistics Examination, Institute of Chartered Accountants
1985 – 1986: Tutor, Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana
1976 – 1978: Tutor, Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana
2003 –2008: Member, Board, UN University Institute of Environment & Human Security
2009 –Present: Chairman, Board, UN University Institute of Environment & Human Security
2006 – Present: Member, International Sustainability Innovation Council of Switzerland
2008 – Present: Member, Global Consortium on Higher Education and Research in Agriculture
2010 – Present: Member, Board of Governors, Foundation for International Training
2010 - Present: Fellow, African Association of Agricultural Economists
2011 - Present: Member, 2012 African Capacity Indicators External Reference Group

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
-International Association of Agricultural Economists
-American Agricultural Economics Association
-West Africa Agricultural Economics Association
-African Rural Social Science Research Network
-Social Science and Medicine Africa Network
-Food Oils Network for Africa
-Society for International Development
-Economic Society of Ghana
-Ghana Association of Agricultural Economists
-African Association of Agricultural Economists