After his studies abroad, Acquaye joined the West African Cocoa Research Institute at Tafo, There, he worked as a research officer until 1965 when he became a senior research officer. A year later, he gained employment at the
University of Ghana, 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 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. A journal he had edited since 1971. He was made a member of the
American Society of Agronomy in 1973, and elected fellow of the
Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences 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
University of Ghana. In 1986, he became dean of the faculty of agriculture at the university for a second occasion before handing over in 1990. == Personal life ==