Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto Biography: Full Name, Age, Parents, Education, Family, Election, Appointment, Career, Politics, Constituency
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto is a Ghanaian agricultural economist and politician. He was born on the 19th of October, 1949 in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He worked for more than a decade with the International Coffee Organization. He is a member of the New Patriotic Party and was the Member of Parliament for the Kwadaso Constituency from…
Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto is a Ghanaian agricultural economist and politician.
He was born on the 19th of October, 1949 in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
He worked for more than a decade with the International Coffee Organization.
He is a member of the New Patriotic Party and was the Member of Parliament for the Kwadaso Constituency from 2009 to 2016.
Below is a biography of Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto.
Personal Life
He is happily married and blessed with seven children.
Parents
He was born to Bafuor Osei Akoto, a prominent member of the pre-independence National Liberation Movement and also a chief linguist at the Manhyia Palace.
Age
He was born on the 19th of October, 1949 in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He is 72 years old as of the year 2021.
Hometown
He hails from Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
Education
He had his tertiary education at the University of Ghana, Legon, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture.
He then studied at Cambridge University, where he obtained a Master of Science in agricultural economics and also his Doctor of Philosophy degree in the year 1985.
Career and Politics
He worked at the International Coffee Organization in London, England. He held positions such as an economist, senior economist, principal economist, and chief economic advisor.
He also served as a consultant to the World Bank (a United Nations agency) on soft commodities—namely, cocoa, coffee, and sugar.
After working for over 18 years abroad, he returned to Ghana where from 1995 to 2008 where he served as the CEO of Goldcrest Commodities Limited and Plantation Resources Limited.
Afriyie Akoto first contested the Kwadaso constituency seat in 2004 and received 20 of the total votes cast by delegates.
He contested again in the 2007 constituency primaries and won. He served two terms as the Member of Parliament for Kwadaso from the years 2009 to 2016.
While at Parliament, Afriyie Akoto was the Deputy Ranking Member for the Committee on Food and Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs.
He was succeeded by Samiu Kwadwo Nuamah when he lost the NPP parliamentary primary in 2015.
In January 2017, President Nana Akuffo-Addo nominated Afriyie Akoto for the position of Minister of Food and Agriculture.
He was approved the same month. During his vetting, he made it known that investors from South Africa and the United States who had visited the Afram plains, Kintampo, and other places in the country were excited about the animal rearing opportunities those places offer and had expressed interest in investing in the sector.
In May of the year 2017, President Akufo-Addo named Afriyie Akoto as one of 19 ministers who would form his cabinet.
He is on the list presented to parliament for approval on 21st January 2021, by the president of Ghana Nana Akuffo-Addo, as the minister for Food and Agriculture nominee.
