Chief of party for the USAID West Africa Fertilizer Program and IFDC’s country representative in Ghana
My strong desire to make a difference in the lives of the project beneficiaries is what keeps me going. I am passionate about the zeal with which farmers, soil scientists, government and particularly the print, broadcast and social media acknowledge that agricultural productivity cannot increase without adequate attention to investments in integrated soil fertility management. We see a clear enthusiasm of Ghanaian farmers advocating for rapid on-site soil tests that will aid their fertilizer choice decisions.
Kofi Debrah is the chief of party for the USAID West Africa Fertilizer Program and IFDC’s country representative in Ghana. He joined IFDC in 1997 and held several managerial positions in the past 18 years.
Debrah began his professional career 27 years ago as a postdoctoral fellow for the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). He later joined the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) as the senior economist and country team leader. His background in scientific and administrative leadership proved beneficial to his work at IFDC.
As chief of party, Debrah provides technical leadership to increase regional availability of affordable quality fertilizer. As country representative, he provides administrative leadership and liaises with government officials, donors, non-governmental organizations and other civil society organizations active in the agriculture and natural resources sub-sectors.
Debrah achieved many accomplishments in his roles at IFDC. Highlights include piloting an ICT platform in Ghana to track the distribution of subsidized fertilizer ensuring its reaches the intended target and participating in the collaboration of national action plans for soil fertility improvements in several African countries.
In 2006, Debrah received the IFDC Board Chairman’s Outstanding Professional Staff Award. He authored or co-authored more than 60 articles in refereed scientific journals. He holds a doctorate and master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Kentucky and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He also received a Project Management Professional (PMP) credential from the Project Management Institute.
