Shakespeare Yaw Dzokoto
Project Advisor
Mr. Dzokoto is an agronomist with over 20 years of experience in senior technical management roles. He led varietal seed programmes at MoFA, managed the establishment and operations of commercial fruit farms and is arguably the country’s leading technical expert on maize, pineapple and passion fruit cultivation. Mr Dzokoto’s practical experience covers a wide variety of fruit and vegetable crops. He is a consultant for many international agricultural companies and is passionate about encouraging the youth in particular into this sector as he has found his career extremely rewarding.
A few selected highlights from his 20+ year experience in the Ghanaian agro sector include:
– Field Officer at Ministry of Agriculture where he carried out field inspections and training for peasant vegetable farmers in the Ga District Densu River Basin; undertook seed testing for all imported and local planting materials, handled field assessments and the inspection of seed / planting materials production fields throughout the country.
– Project Officer for the “Sasakawa Global 2000 Project” – funded by former United States President Jimmy Carter and Yohei Sasakawa, a Japanese Philanthropist. He coordinated activities with the MoFA, The Crop Research Institute, KNUST and the Ministry of Health. He led efforts in 1) feeding trials / seed production for maize, soybean and vegetables, 2) offered technical backup for farmers in the Afram Plains and 3) worked with women farmers in the Ashanti, Eastern and Greater Accra Region where he linked them to lucrative markets.
– Technical Head, SAA/QPM Africa Regional Project – coordinated a poverty alleviation program with women farmers in the Ashanti Region (Nkawie area) and poultry feeding trials with KNUST and UCEW-Mampong Campus.
– Head of Research, Development and Farm Projects for Blue Skies Products Limited – coordinated activities of pineapple, mango and papaya farmers; supervised field trials and organized training sessions for farmers; checked on fruit quality before delivery to the factory and was in-charge of the company’s farm projects (pineapple, papaya and passion fruit cultivation).
He is also a co-founder of TSFarmConsult – a training and consulting group created by professionals committed to transforming lives through farming. To achieve this mission, the group aims to provide quality training to equip future (and existing) farmers with the relevant knowledge and guidance to make farming a successful and enjoyable enterprise. TSFarmConsult views farming as a credible and sustainable solution to unemployment and food security. The group makes a concerted effort to target and encourage the youth to consider farming as a decent and productive career choice. Program courses currently focus on food crops with a concentration on fruits and vegetables for the domestic market and the export market.