David Kpakpoe Acquaye is a Ghanaian academic and agriculturalist. He was a professor of

Soil Science Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to th ...

and

Crop Science Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...

, and the first head of the Soil Science department of the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

. He was a member of the Soil Science Society of Ghana, the

Soil Science Society of America The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), is the largest soil-specific society in the United States. It was formed in 1936 from the merger of the Soils Section of the American Society of Agronomy and the American Soil Survey Association. The So ...

, the International Soil Science Society, the

American Society of Agronomy The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) is a scientific and professional society of agronomists and scientists of related disciplines, principally in the United States but with many non-U.S. members as well. About It was founded December 13, 190 ...

, and a fellow of the

Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences The Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) is a learned society for the arts and sciences based in Accra, Ghana. The institution was founded in November 1959 by Kwame Nkrumah with the aim to promote the pursuit, advancement and dissemination ...

. He once served as a president of the Association of Faculties of Agriculture in Africa.

Early life and education

Acquaye was born on 17 September 1928. He had his early education at the Accra Royal School from 1936 to 1943. In 1944, he gained admission to study at the

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a Non-denominational Christianity, non-denominational Day School, day and Boarding School, boarding Single-sex education, boys' school. It is located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region. The school was establishe ...

, where he graduated in 1948. He continued at the

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in East Lansing, Michigan, USA in 1952. There, he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1956. In 1957, he proceeded to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to study at the University of Aberdeen,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, where he obtained his doctorate degree in 1960.

Career

After his studies abroad, Acquaye joined the West African Cocoa Research Institute at Tafo, as a Scientific Officer in the field of Soil Chemistry. There, he worked as a research officer until 1965 when he became a senior research officer. A year later, he gained employment at the

, where he worked as a senior lecturer. In 1969, he was made the acting head of the Crop Science Department, and the dean of the Faculty of Agriculture in 1972. He was elevated to the status of an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

in 1974, and subsequently, professor in 1976. Acquaye became a member of the International Soil Science Society in 1958, and served as the vice-president of the society from 1963 to 1964. He was president of the Soil Science Society of Ghana from 1966 to 1971 and a scientific editor of the Ghana Journal of Agricultural Science. A journal he had edited since 1971. He was made a member of the

in 1973, and elected fellow of the

in 1979. In 1982, Acquaye became the first head of the Soil Science department which was carved out of the Crop Science Department of the

. In 1986, he became dean of the faculty of agriculture at the university for a second occasion before handing over in 1990.

Personal life

Acquaye married Eugenia Na-Oyo Quartey-Papafio in 1961. Together, they had five sons. Acquaye's interests included football, playing table tennis, and reading.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acquaye, David Kpakpoe Ghanaian agriculturalists Soil scientists Michigan State University alumni Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academic staff of the University of Ghana 1928 births Academics from Accra Living people 20th-century Ghanaian scientists