Brief Profile
Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako is a Professor of Plant Virology, and the Dean of School of Agriculture of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Cape Coast, Ghana. He holds a Doctorate Degree in Plant and Environmental Sciences from the University of Warwick, UK, with specialization in Plant Virology. He also holds Master of Philosophy Degree in Crop Science (Plant Pathology), Bachelor of Science in General Agriculture, and Diploma in Education, all from University of Cape Coast.
He specializes in virus diseases of horticultural, vegetable and food crops, with special interests in virus characterization, diagnostics, plant-virus-vector interactions, and development of integrated crop improvement strategies. He has conducted a number of scientific research works including breeding for high yielding and virus resistant crops. He has been involved in releasing a number of high yielding cowpea varieties that are resistant to viruses, striga and drought (2018) and two white flesh and three yellow flesh cassava (high beta carotene content) which are resistant to cassava mosaic disease (2018).
He has attended and presented at several conferences and workshops, both local and abroad, and has a number of publications in peer review journals. He supervises research works of both undergraduate and post-graduate students.
He has won several research grants from both local and international institutions such as: World Vegetable Centre, AVRDC. Shanhua, Taiwan (2013); CSIR-West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) (2014); International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture-FAO, Rome, Italy (2016); Ghana Skills Development Project-COTVET fund (2015); and Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy, University of Cape Coast (2015, 2017). European Union (LEAP-Agri) grant, an African- European collaborative research, for the development and implementation of N-Plasma technology; Grant award from Master Card Foundation / Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) to undertake a pineapple value chain project in the Central region of Ghana, 2018.
He was an Academic counselor and Liaison officer of Students Attachment and Field trips, School of Agriculture, UCC from 2015-2016. He also held the position of Registration officer, in the Department of Crop Science, of the School of Agriculture, UCC, from 2014-2015. He was also the Faculty representative of the University Time TableCommittee from 2012-2014. He is currently a board member of the Central Regional branch of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce.