Dr. Selorm Akaba is a lecturer in Agricultural Economics at the University of Cape Coast (UCC). He has academic background in agricultural economics and development practice. He has his PhD and MPhil in Agricultural Economics, and BSc in Agriculture, all from the University of Cape Coast. He holds an Advanced Certificate in Peace and Development Studies from Cuttington University, Liberia, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Management from Maastricht School of Management in The Netherlands. He is a trained drone pilot and coordinates Unmanned Aerial Systems for Sustainable Agriculture Projects in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension.
He was co-principal investigator for socio-economic and efficacy study on using drones for controlling fall armyworm. He is currently the lead consultant for Skills Development Fund (SDF) training project on Improving Vegetable Productivity and Biosecurity of Farmer Associations at Baifikrom-Mankesim Irrigation Scheme, Central Region, Ghana. He recently facilitated two international training workshops at UCC on the use of drones and digital sensors for precision agriculture; and food safety and authenticity.
He was a Training Consultant at Central Agricultural Research Institute in Liberia on improving food safety and quality standards in rice value chain. He also consulted for the Episcopal Church on value chain approaches, food safety and quality assurance in agribusiness at Cuttington University, Liberia.
Dr. Akaba has published papers in both local and international peer reviewed journals and wrote book chapters. He has also participated and presented papers in local and International conferences, and workshops including the African Climate Risks Conference 2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; RUFORUM Skill Enhancement Training for Post-Doctoral Fellows and Emerging Scientists, 2019, Cape Coast; GIZ Organic Agriculture, Business Models and Certification Training Workshop 2019 at Cape Coast; African Green Revolution Forum 2019, Accra; and Conference on Fisheries and Coastal Environment 2017 in Accra.
He is a member of The Food Authenticity Network; Interdisciplinary Food System Teaching and Learning (IFSTAL); Ghana Association of Agricultural Economists (GAAE); and University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).
He has special interest in Bioeconomics, Climate Change Responses, Food Security and Sustainable Development. His current research focus is on digitalisation of the agri-food systems (use of Drones, Sensors and GIS and Remote Sensing).
