The University of Ghana has promoted Professor Daniel Adu Ankrah of the Department of Agricultural Extension from Associate Professor to full Professor, making him the first and youngest Professor in Agricultural Extension since the department was established in 1976.
Professor Ankrah, who is also the Head of Department, achieved the rank of Professor in nine years from the time he joined the university as a Lecturer in 2016, marking one of the fastest academic progressions in the institution’s history.
His promotion also challenges long-held perceptions that professorial ranks are attained only later in academic careers, particularly within public universities in Ghana.
Professor Ankrah’s academic journey began with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Cape Coast in 2004, followed by an MPhil in Agricultural Administration at the University of Ghana, completed in 2008. He later obtained a PhD in International Rural Development from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom in 2014.
He joined the University of Ghana in September 2016 as a Lecturer, rose to Senior Lecturer in 2021, and was appointed Head of Department in 2022. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2023 before attaining full Professorship in 2025.
The university says his research output includes publications in high-impact journals such as Land Use Policy, Journal of Peasant Studies, and Journal of International Development. He has authored dozens of peer-reviewed papers and has more than 1,000 citations, according to Google Scholar.
Professor Ankrah has also participated in several international research collaborations and consultancy projects with organisations including the World Bank, USAID, the European Union, ECOWAS, AGRA, and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
He is currently involved in multiple research projects, including the Policy Prioritization through Value Chain Analysis (PPVC II) initiative and the EU-funded Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS4FNSSA) project, which focuses on sustainable agriculture and food systems in Africa.
Beyond academia, Professor Ankrah is active in church leadership and community service. He serves as President of the Men’s Ministry at the Good Shepherd Assembly of God Church in Accra and holds other leadership roles within the church and alumni associations.
Professor Ankrah is married with three children.
His promotion has been described as a significant milestone for the University of Ghana’s Faculty of Agriculture, reflecting what the institution says is a strong commitment to academic excellence and research productivity.
