Prof. Eugene Borketey Bortei-Doku buried

Accra, April 17 GNA - Professor Eugene Borketey Bortei-Doku, a former Head of the Department of Agricultural Extension of the University of Ghana, who died on April 15, of 83, was buried at the Nungua Presbyterian Cemetery last Saturday.

A burial service was held for him at the Zimmerman Presbyterian Church in Nungua. Prof. Bortei-Doku studied in Achimota from 1932 to 1936. Between 1949 to 1952 he studied at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad and Tobago and obtained a Diploma.

Subsequently, he obtained postgraduate teachers' certificate at the University of Reading in 1956. In 1960 at the University of Vermont in the United States of America, Prof. Bortei-Doku obtained a certificate in Extension Education.

In 1969 he obtained the Master of Science degree in Agricultural Extension at the Reading University in the United Kingdom. Before joining the University of Ghana, Professor Eugene Bortei-Doku was the Head of the Training and Manpower Division of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Between 1957 and 1965, he undertook substantial development programmes of the Agricultural Colleges at Kwadaso and Nyankpala. He was instrumental in the building of other agricultural institutions at Ohawu, Asuansi, Wenchi, Ejura, Navrongo and Adidome, to train agricultural extension officers.

Professor Bortei-Doku initiated and developed for the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, diploma courses in agriculture animal health, and agricultural mechanisation.

Through his efforts and leadership, the Extension Division of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Farm management was raised to the status of a fully-fledged department in 1976.

This department is, therefore, a living monument to his foresight and dedication to agricultural development. Professor Bortei-Doku retired in 1978 and subsequently served as the PNDC Secretary for Agriculture and later as the Ghana's Ambassador to Italy with accreditation to Turkey and Malta.

In recognition of his achievements, the University of Ghana in 1991 conferred on him an Honorary Doctor of Science. The vice-chancellor of the University of Ghana Prof. Ivan Addae-Mensah, Diplomats, ministers, past vice-chancellors, Dons from the universities in Ghana, sympathisers from both the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture Attended the funneral He had nine children, four boys and five girls.