Richard Kwasi Bannor is an Associate Professor specialising in Agribusiness Management with a focus on Agribusiness Marketing within the Department of Agribusiness Management and Consumer Studies at the University of Energy and Natural Resources. Early in his career, he served as a consultant under the Ghana Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Compact, where he concentrated on enhancing the capabilities of farmers in Ghana’s pepper, pineapple, maize, and cassava value chains. Through this initiative, he successfully trained over 700 farmers, assisting them in developing viable business plans to secure funding through the project. Following this job, Bannor moved to Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture, where he was appointed Management Information Systems (MIS) Officer. He trained more than 50 Agricultural Extension Officers in this position on value chain optimisation and marketing strategies. He also demonstrated his expertise by participating in numerous workshops on emerging export commodities in Ghana. In 2010, while at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), he established an agribusiness exporting company that exports griffonia, voacanga, and cashew nuts to the European and Asian markets. Additionally, he worked part-time as a Business Development Officer for the African Aurora Business Network in Kokomlemle, Accra.

Transitioning to academia, Bannor has since trained and mentored over 500 students in agribusiness, supervised over 30 postgraduate research projects and served as an external examiner for more than 20 postgraduate candidates. His active involvement in regional academic discourse is exemplified by his participation on multiple national committees for the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, which reviews undergraduate and postgraduate agribusiness programs nationwide. Within the university context, Bannor has contributed to over 30 committees and has held significant administrative roles, including Head of Department, Dean, and Vice Dean, showcasing his extensive leadership and management acumen. His research output is substantial, boasting over 70 publications in high-impact referee journals indexed in Scopus and WoS, predominantly focusing on agribusiness and food marketing, agribusiness value and supply chains dynamics across Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as five (5) international patents from the UK, Australia and Germany.

Bannor has been a member of numerous projects to strengthen agricultural commodity value chains in Ghana, with total funding exceeding USD 1 million. In line with advancing Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDPs), he currently holds the position of Faculty Officer for the Agripreneurship project under the Kosmos Innovation Centre Project, where he has facilitated approximately USD 75,000 in funding for student and graduate agribusiness teams. Through this program, he has trained over 400 young entrepreneurs in agripreneurship. Additionally, Bannor led the University of Energy and Natural Resources on the Okuafo Pa Agribusiness Project, which established the Okuafo Pa Agribusiness Centre, successfully training more than 1,800 youth in agribusiness across Ghana. His consulting work extends to various international organisations, including his current role as a consultant for notable agricultural food systems organisations such as the World Vegetable Centre.

In collaboration with colleagues, Bannor was instrumental in establishing the Ghana Society of Agribusiness Scientists, the first professional society dedicated to agribusiness research and academia, where he serves as its inaugural President. His dedication to the development and sustainability of agribusiness is profound, with a vision to advance agricultural commodity value chains and foster economic growth in developing countries through strategic agribusiness initiatives.