Michael Abu Sakara Foster was born at
Damongo in the
Savannah Region (formerly
Northern Region) on 15 August 1958. He began school in Kpembe Primary school, East Gonja, at age six and then moved to Sawla Primary school for a short period. Thereafter he came back to school in Salaga until 1966, after which he was sent to study and live with a friend of his father, Mr and Mrs Foster who were an evangelical missionaries. He entered Yendi Secondary School as a pioneer in 1972. Under the stewardship of his family he later went to study in the
United Kingdom (UK) where he obtained his first degree in Soil Science from the University of Reading in 1982. Foster obtained his MSc. in Applied Plant Sciences from
Wye College,
University of London in 1984 and received his PhD in Applied Agricultural Botany from University of Reading in 1987. == Career ==