"I don't believe that investing in agricultural commodity trade alone is sufficient if you are really serious about contributing to food security in Ghana."
Joshua Toatoba's words reflect a philosophy that has driven remarkable transformation in northern Ghana. A graduate of the University for Development Studies with a degree in agriculture, Joshua could have pursued any number of conventional careers. Instead, he chose to get his hands dirty - literally.
Between 2008 and 2014, Joshua worked with World Vision, organising rural finance schemes for farmers and gaining valuable experience in agricultural trade. These roles revealed a critical gap: farmers needed more than just access to markets - they needed the means to produce better crops in the first place.
In 2014, Joshua founded Rujo Agri-Trade in Tamale with an innovative and practical approach. He developed a 50-acre rice farm as the nucleus and recruited 100 smallholder farmers as out-growers working around his operation. His commercial farm became more than a business -- it evolved into a training centre, an input supply hub, and a place where local farmers bring their produce.
When Savannah Agriculture Value Chain Development Project- SADEP identified Joshua's proven model, the partnership was a natural fit. The project provided land development support, input credit, mechanisation services and stronger market links, enabling Joshua to expand both his nucleus farm and his out-grower network.
What distinguishes Rujo Agri-Trade is its focus on developing people. Joshua doesn't simply buy from farmers - he invests in them, providing training, demonstration plots and ongoing technical support. His out-growers don't just supply rice and maize; they gain knowledge, adopt modern practices and improve their yields year after year.
"My education taught me the science of agriculture. My experience taught me the business. But working with farmers has taught me that sustainable impact requires both -- it means building people, not just producing crops."
In a country where many university graduates mistakenly see farming as a fallback option, Joshua's success tells a different story. Through Rujo Agri-Trade, more than 100 smallholder families have increased their incomes. Agricultural productivity has risen across the region. Modern practices have spread through demonstration and peer learning. And Ghana's food security has been strengthened through increased rice and maize production.
Perhaps most importantly, Joshua shows other educated young people that agriculture can be both profitable and purposeful -- a pathway to prosperity, not a fallback.
SADEP's partnership with Joshua works because it recognises that commercial farmers like him are not just producers - they are catalysts for rural transformation. By supporting Joshua, SADEP has seen a far-reaching impact: support one commercial farmer, and you empower dozens of smallholder households.
"Every farmer we support, every community we reach, every harvest we improve - these are steps toward the Ghana we all want to see: food-secure, prosperous and inclusive," Joshua says with quiet satisfaction.
His journey from university lecture halls to rice paddies represents more than one man's career choice. It symbolises a shift in mindset -- a new way for Ghana's educated youth to view agriculture: not as back-breaking labour, but as a sophisticated enterprise that demands technical knowledge, business skill and innovation.
In his fields, the future of Ghanaian agriculture -- educated, entrepreneurial and empowering -- is taking root.
