Trent University
MyTrent
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate Programs
    • Trent Online
    • Summer Courses
    • Continuing Education
    • Study Abroad
    • Academic Calendar
    • Academic Timetable
    • Academic Skills Centre
    • Academic Advising
    • Library
    • Centre for Teaching and Learning
  • Admissions
    • Undergraduate
    • Thinking of Applying
    • Already Applied
    • Received an Offer
    • Accepted My Offer
    • Graduate
    • International
    • Indigenous
    • Returning to Trent
    • Transfer
  • Services & Support
    • Academic Advising
    • Academic Skills Centre
    • Administrative Departments
    • Alumni Services
    • Athletics
    • Campus Security
    • Careerspace
    • Colleges
    • Communications
    • Conferences
    • Financial Aid
    • Financial Services
    • Health & Wellness
    • Indigenous Services
    • Information Technology
    • International Students
    • Learning Support
    • Parking
    • Printshop
    • Recruitment
    • Registrar's Office
    • Residence & Housing
    • Student Clubs
    • TrentU Card
  • Research
    • Research at Trent
    • Research Centres
    • Find an Expert
    • Resources
  • Give to Trent
  • About Trent
    • About Trent
    • Careers
    • Giving to Trent
    • Governance
    • How to Find Us
    • Media
    • News & Events
    • President's Office
    • Staff Directory
    • Trent Facts
    • Contact Us
  • Campus Locations
    • Peterborough
    • Durham GTA
    • Online
  • Future Students
    • Undergraduate
    • Thinking of Applying
    • Already Applied
    • Received an Offer
    • Accepted My Offer
    • Graduate
    • International
    • Indigenous
    • Returning to Trent
    • Transfer
  • Current Students
  • Alumni
  • Trent Forward: COVID-19 Info
  • Apply
  • Visit
  • Give
  • Map
  • Careers
  • Directions
  • Library
  • Site Map
  • Bookstore
Skip to main content Home
  • Peterborough
  • Durham GTA
  • Online
  • MyTrent
MENU
Trent University
News and Events
  • Latest News
  • Trent Experts
  • For Media
  • For Faculty and Staff
  • Publications
  • Contact Us
  1. Trentu.ca
  2. News and Events

Trent-in-Ghana Grad One of Africa’s Emerging Agripreneurs Working to Make Farming Sexy

July 16, 2019
Share This Story

From farming in Ghana to being profiled as an expert in a New York Times feature, Vozbeth Kofi Azumah describes his Trent-in-Ghana experience as transformational

Trent-in-Ghana graduate Vozbeth Kofi Azumah poses for a photo with arms outstretched in front of a field of cattle.

Trent-in-Ghana graduate Vozbeth Kofi Azumah is “making farming sexy” in Africa, according to a recent New York Times article. Mr. Azumah owns three businesses, breeding snails and bees. He also leads a nonprofit: a 35-acre maize farm in the Agotime-Adedome district of Ghana that is engaging more than 40 members of the local community.

Mr. Azumah is one of a few emerging “agripreneurs” challenging the stigma of farming, which is seen as a sign of poverty. His aim is to support the development of rural agriculture beyond subsistence farming, to address food insecurity and unemployment.

“When I finished school, I wanted to use my education to help develop the economies of rural communities,” Mr. Azumah said. “Many university educated youth stay in big cities and look for the white collar jobs, but that means the rural communities age, and thus struggle to perform physical labour of farming, a common livelihood in these areas.”

Shortly after launching the community project, Mr. Azumah went back to the University of Cape Coast, where he completed his undergraduate degree, this time also taking part in the Trent-in-Ghana (TIG) program, offered by the Department of International Development Studies at Trent. Through lectures, field-trips, and work placements in Cape Coast and Tamale, Ghana, TIG equipped him with the practical knowledge and methodology in community development that is helping his farming project.

“Trent-in-Ghana transformed my organization,” Mr. Azumah said. “The opportunity to engage with teachers in central Ghana regions, and travel to the north with a team taught me about community development, traditions, the environment, food insecurity, and migration. I learned new participatory tools to engage community, to implement project, to monitor the project, and to assess the success of the project. The exposure and support from participating in the Trent-in-Ghana program helped me table a proposal and secure funding for the project.”

“My knowledge is not only benefitting me, but also the community and the people I work with in my organization,” Mr. Azumah said. “Now, we’re training people on the agriculture value chain, planting seed for maize and nurturing the land. I have become a role model in my community.”

TIG has been operating for over 20 years, providing students from Canada and Ghana the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding about international development. Learn more about Trent-in-Ghana. 

Find other stories about: Trent in Ghana, International

Share This Story

You Might Also Like

Trent Beat, Making headlines. Four images from multiple news stories. First is two students in a garden. Second is a person is sitting walking hockey. Third is a photo of a person reaching their hand in a tree. Fourth is three people sitting with a sign behind them saying "100's will die if supervised injection site closes".

Trent Beat: Bets, Health, and Local Dirt

 Jocelyn Whent stands on the bench at the Memorial Centre and smiles at the camera while the Peterborough Petes skate in behind her

An Exercise in Elite Education: Varsity Athlete Studies Athletic Training with Peterborough Petes

Four Trent alumni smile at the camera while standing infront of a green, blue, and white backdrop

Otonabee College’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Links the Past and the Present

Trent University logo
Challenge the Way You Think

Trent University respectfully acknowledges it is located on the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg. We offer our gratitude to First Peoples for their care for, and teachings about, our earth and our relations. May we honour those teachings.

Peterborough

1600 West Bank Drive
Peterborough, ON Canada, K9L 0G2

Toll Free: 1-855-MY-TRENT

Campus Map

Durham Greater Toronto Area

55 Thornton Road South
Oshawa, ON Canada, L1J 5Y1

Phone: 905-435-5100

Campus Map

Social Media Directory
  • Contact
  • Directions
  • Site Map
  • Accessibility
  • @ Copyright 2023 Trent University