The African Regional Postgraduate Programme in Insect Science (ARRPIS) - Sub-Regional Centre for West Africa was established in 1991 with approval from the ARPPIS Academic Board-ICIPE (Nairobi) and the Academic Board University of Ghana, Legon, Accra.  ARPPIS is a collaborative network project involving, ICIPE Kenya, some African universities as well as donor agencies for the training of Insect Scientists (capacity building) to solve Africa’s numerous insect pest problems. The ARPPIS subregional Centre, University of Ghana, is the  only operational Centre among the 3 established Sub-regional Centres in Africa. The ARPPIS Subregional Centre, University of Ghana, currently referred to as the Insect Science Programme, offers an international programme leading to the award  of a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in Entomology, and recently Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Entomology. The focus of the programme is for the training of Entomologists from the West African Sub-Region, but students are admitted across Africa. 

The programme is administered as a joint inter-school course between the School of Agriculture and the School of Biological Sciences, with Crop Science and Animal Biology and Conservation Science (DABCS) as the main collaborating Departments. Scientists from other Departments and Institutes of the University of Ghana also participate in teaching and supervision of students. These include the Department of Biochemistry, Cell & Molecular Biology (BCMB), School of Public Health, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Institute for Applied Science & Technology (IAST)  and the three Agricultural Research Centres of the School of Agriculture (SIREC, FOHCREC and LIPREC). Since its inception in 1991, A total of 315 graduate students (284 MPhils and 31 PhDs) have been enrolled.  The programme draws its strengths from several sources including a teaching and research faculty of some 22 full and part time professional entomologists, chemical ecologists, toxicologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, agronomists and animal scientists as well as some 20 other entomologists and researchers from partner institutions and other national institutes and agencies, and a full range of laboratory and field equipment for teaching and research. 

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Brief History of ARPPIS

Established in 1991, The African Regional Postgraduate Programme in Insect Science (ARRPIS) - Sub-Regional Centre for West Africa has been in the forefront for the training of entomologists across Africa. A total of 315 graduate students (284 MPhils  and 31 PhDs) from 16 African countries have been enrolled between 1991 to 2024. The countries include Nigeria , Sierra Leone, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Gambia, Sudan, Senegal, Cameroon, Rwanda, Togo, Benin, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda and Ghana. 

Our Mission

The mission of the Centre is to provide a congenial learning environment which identifies the different stakeholders and their needs and develop appropriate interventions in addressing them. Such an environment should facilitate the nurturing of both faculty and students to be ready to provide critical leadership in Insect Science and related issues in agriculture, human health, biodiversity, and the environment in the West African Sub-Region, for the attainment of sustainable socio-economic development and food security. 

Our Vision

To develop the Insect Science Centre into a reputable African Centre of excellence and a world class resource centre for teaching, learning, research, and delivery of extension and other support services in Insect Science and related issues. 


The mission will be achieved through;

  • The development of demand-driven curriculum in Insect Science to meet the needs of the varied stakeholders in the agricultural sector. 
  • Establishment of strong collaboration between the Centre and Insect Science related industry, locally and internationally. 
  • Development of employment-oriented sandwich, certificate/diploma/short courses in specialized areas, such as Crop Protection, IPM for vegetables, cereals, legumes, root and tuber crops, fruits and tree crops, Pesticide application technology and management. Rearing and identification of crop pests, quarantine and regulatory procedures, insect Systematics, beneficial insects, biological control of crop pests, and postharvest handling of durable and perishable crops among others. 
  • Run PhD as well as terminal Masters’ programmes which will network and sandwich with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Nairobi, Kenya, as well as other partner universities and institutions, so that some students can spend some of their research time in those institutions with supervisors from both institutions. 
  • Continue to offer teaching and research supervision for young scientists from West Africa wishing to pursue MPhil and PhD degrees in Insect Science and related fields of study. It is envisaged, that on average, the number of students for the MPhil degree will be increased to 20 each year, while those for PhD will be increased to 10 each year. 

 

Our Faculty

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Prof. Okae Fening Associate Professor of Agricultural Entomology, SIREC
Prof. Okae Fening Associate Professor of Agricultural Entomology, SIREC
Prof. Okae Fening Associate Professor of Agricultural Entomology, SIREC

Our Staff

Ms. Beatrice Ansaa Boahen Chief Administrative Assistant
Mr. Joshua Baffoe-Ansah Senior Technician
Mr. Baba Azure Cleaner/Messenger
Mr. Issaka Abdallah Gardener