H.E. Dr Winfred Nii Okai Hammond is a Ghanaian/International diplomat and a technocrat who was Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Agriculture in 2005 after 20 years of service as Senior Scientist/Regional Coordinator for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) where he worked in more than 30 African countries to help with their Agricultural Development programs.

Between March 2006 and February 2016, he was United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Country Representative in Liberia and Rwanda (2006 – 2012) and Senior Advisor for Plant Production and Plant Pest based at the FAO Headquarters in Rome (2012 – 2016) from where he worked in the Caribbean region, the SADC countries including the Indian Ocean Islands, and in 2013 undertook an evaluation of Chinese institutions for their classification as centres of Excellence for South-South Cooperation between China and Africa countries.

On retirement from UN FAO, Dr Hammond was appointed Ghana’s Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Lebanon, the Republic of Sudan, and the State of Palestine between February 2019 – July 2021, before he was reassigned to the People’s Republic of China from August 2021 to 2024 December as Ghana’s Ambassador, also responsible for Mongolia, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Dr Hammond was the Chairman of the African Ambassadors Agricultural Working Group for the Forum on China and African Cooperation (FOCAC) in the People’s Republic of China (August 2021 to December 2024).

As an OD practitioner he has played numerous roles in shaping organizations’ ability to improve their operational efficiency through planned change, which is crucial to their remaining competitive, such as contributing to the development of the FAO Strategic Objectives in 2012 – 2014, and the IITA/African Development Bank on Strategic Engagement with National Government Institutions for Agricultural Transformation in Africa in 2018.

At the end of his tour of duty as ambassador in December 2024, he is currently a consultant applying his skills and competences derived from his several years of experience as a technocrat, a diplomat, and an OD practitioner to help diversified institutions and companies.

Dr. Hammond holds a doctorate degree (1988) in Natural Science and Entomology from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. His M. Sc. Degree in Entomology and Parasitology is from the University of Ghana with two years research at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in 1983. He obtained his B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Ghana in 1978. He is also a certified Organizational Development (OD) Practitioner from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland in Ohio with field training experience (1997-1998) in Scotland, Netherlands, Isarael, USA, and Spain.

Dr Hammond is a Christian, married with four children. He loves travelling and spending time with his family. His other hobbies include reading and very passionate about sports.