President John Mahama has appointed Rich Kofi Kofituo, a researcher at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), as the new Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Tree Crop Development Authority (TCDA).
Kofituo has a solid track record, having worked with IITA as a Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning Expert, where he contributed to several high-impact international development projects. IITA is one of the 14 centers of CGIAR, the world’s largest non-profit agricultural research organization.
With more than 10 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, socio-economic research, project management, and capacity building, Kofituo is well-equipped to contribute to the TCDA’s mission. The TCDA, established in 2019, regulates the growth and development of six key tree and industrial crops in Ghana—cashew, shea, mango, coconut, rubber, and oil palm—and works to create a favorable environment for their production, processing, and marketing under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Kofituo holds a Doctorate in Applied Agricultural Economics & Policy from the University of Ghana, where he also completed a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Agricultural Economics and a Bachelor of Science in the same field. He has certifications in project management, gender diversity, and results-based monitoring, and has experience as a research assistant at the University of Ghana’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness.
Specializing in tree crop value chains, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable land use, Kofituo’s expertise will be instrumental in enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of Ghana’s tree crop sector, collaborating with various stakeholders to promote development and improve productivity.
