Kofi Vinyo: The Man Who Refused To Give Up

He was born healthy at Mim in the Brong Ahafo Region 34 years ago but before he turned four he was struck with paralysis.  His paralysis was due to the actions of a quack Doctor who claimed he could treat him of his ailment.

His ailment made him remain on bed for 6 years until his mum took him to Nsawam where he was helped at the physiotherapy training center to manage walking without the help of clips for a while before being given clutches.
He suffered neglect from his father who accused his mother giving birth to an evil child and even tried throwing him into a river for him to die but the resolve of his mother to keep him saved him.

That man is Kofi Vinyo Chief Executive Officer of Kofi Vinyo company Limited,  a company which focuses on agriculture.
In a lay-it-all-bare interview with ghnewsnow.com‘s Musah Lansah,  Mr.  Vinyo revealed that his resolve to shame his family propelled him to work hard to reach his current status.

According to him, “when I finished with my advance course in accountancy some years ago,  I tried getting a job but I was denied the job because I had a disability.  I was hurt but I told myself I won’t beg to survive but I will set up my own business to shame my family and those who refused giving me a job”.

At that time there was a man in Sunyani who had a big saw mill so I went o him and chose to pick the small pieces of wood that was left over and then started selling them to people who were interested in using them to decorate their homes. Gradually people started ordering for them  to the extent that I got a contract to supply to Germany”, he added.

“After doing the wood business for sometime I decided to go into agriculture which has been my first love but abandoned due to lack of funds”, he told Musah Lansah.

He disclosed that he chose agriculture because it was an everlasting venture which can stand the test of time.
He said, “if you look at agriculture you will realize that until the last man dies a farmer will continue to be in business.

Kofi Vinyo Company Limited

Mr.  Kofi Vinyo after working to start up his agriculture business set out to revolutionalize the sector.
He revealed that, his company is into the cultivation of pepper,maize,tomatoes cassava and ginger in several parts of the country.
He said, “we are currently working to expand our operations. For instance I went to upper east this week to secure land for us to go into block farming. This is to encourage the youth to venture into agriculture so as to reduce the over dependence on government for employment”.

” We are hoping to engage about 300 youth in the block farming concept where we will help them with everything they need without any interest”, he revealed.
“If we help them for the first time,  the more eyes they will from the interest free support will be used to establish themselves in the sector”, he added.

Irrigation Farming

He took a swipe at governments for not showing much commitment to agriculture. According to him,  all that officials do is talk without realizing that without irrigation agriculture will not thrive in Ghana.
He said,  “Most of the time we talk too much. The only way we can grow our agriculture is through irrigation farming as the weather is not good enough to support crop production. If we invest in irrigation farming just 50 farmers can feed the nation with surplus for export”.

Useless Agricultural Development Bank

On farmers not getting financial support, Mr.  Vinyo told Musah Lansah that financial institutions are not ready to support farmers since they see it as a risky venture. He described Agricultural Development Bank as the worst of all the banks.
He said,”ADB is not serious with farmers.  They support farming they rather prefer giving loans to GPRTU to buy vehicles rather than give the money to farmers.  They have lost focus”.

The Media
He took a swing at the media for neglecting pertinent social issues and rather focusing on politics. He asked, “what’s the use of the media if you don’t talk about the issues that affect the ordinary person but rather you give the politicians the chance to speak? ”
“Stop giving them the chance to lie to us all the time”, he admonished the media.

I am not afraid

Mr.  Vinyo is currently working to build his own research center to support his activities. He disclosed that he is not scared of victimization from people as long he knows he is fighting for the right things to be done.

He is married with 3 kids and currently employs over 100 people in his company.

Story By : Musah Lansah