By Elise St Clair
Growing up in Kwapong, a farming community in Ghana’s Ahafo region, and attending university in Ghana helped Benjamin Karikari develop an appreciation for agriculture and sustainable food systems. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Cape Coast in 2008 and a master’s degree in agronomy from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 2014.
He then earned a doctoral degree in crop genetics and breeding at Nanjing Agricultural University in China in 2020, where he focused on soybean improvement.
Karikari began Sept. 25, 2025, as an assistant professor of practice in plant science in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In his current role, Karikari teaches undergraduate and graduate courses covering genetics, plant nutrition, biotechnology and soil microbial ecology. His teaching emphasizes experiential learning, giving students the opportunity to use the latest research techniques and tools in the classroom.
He also mentors students, helping them conduct research and explore careers in agronomy and horticulture, and leads a research program.
“My research program focuses on improving crop productivity, resilience and nutrient use efficiency, particularly in major crops such as soybean, corn and other legume crops,” Karikari said. “My work integrates plant physiology, functional genomics and breeding to address challenges related to nutrient limitation, drought and climate stress.”
Beyond conducting his own research, Karikari records his findings and reviews other researchers’ publications. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers, and is an active reviewer and guest editor for academic journals like “Plant Communications,” “The Plant Genome” and “Theoretical and Applied Genetics.”
His research has been recognized through several honors, including the Young African Phosphorus Fellowship, which supported his work on improving phosphorus use efficiency in soybeans.
Source : unl.edu