Rate My Professor Felix Dapare Dakora

Professor Felix Dapare Dakora is a plant biologist at Tshwane University of Technology, where he serves as Professor and Research Chair in Agrochemurgy. He obtained a BSc (Hons) degree in Agriculture from the University of Ghana in 1977, an MSc degree from the University of Sydney, Australia, and a PhD degree in Botany from the University of Western Australia in 1989. His academic career includes positions as lecturer in the Botany Department at the University of Cape Town from 1993, professor and executive dean of research development and technology promotion at Cape Technikon from 2002, and his current role at Tshwane University of Technology. Dakora’s research focuses on biological nitrogen fixation, legume-rhizobium symbiosis, and plant physiology, with emphasis on sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. He has authored or co-authored over 400 publications, including papers on root exudates as mediators of mineral acquisition, contributions of nitrogen-fixing crop legumes to agricultural productivity, and roles of plant flavonoids in legume symbiosis. Dakora previously held the South African Research Chair in Agrochemurgy and Plant Symbioses. He is a recipient of the UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences in 2012 and the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Continental Science Award in 2016. He is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Science of South Africa, and The World Academy of Sciences, and served as President of the African Academy of Sciences from 2017 to 2023. Dakora is also a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

His work has advanced understanding of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes and its applications for improving crop yields and soil fertility under challenging environmental conditions. Dakora has contributed to editorial roles and international scientific committees focused on agriculture and biotechnology.