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As part of the Faculty of Agriculture’s ring tradition, the Alumni Association allows for an honorary ring to be presented each year. Honorary rings are awarded to individuals who do not meet the criteria to be eligible for a Barley Ring, but who are extremely deserving of the honour. These individuals are ambassadors and supporters of the institution. They have made outstanding contributions to the AC community and truly depict the characteristics of a Faculty of Agriculture alum.

The 2026 honorary ring recipient is Dr. Sam Asiedu.

Sam is one of the friendliest people to ever work on campus. Since he first started as an NSAC faculty member in 1988, his quiet consistency, patience, kindness and good nature have been appreciated by his students and colleagues alike.

“Sam is very deserving of the honorary Barley Ring as he is an Aggie at heart,” said Breagh Ross, Vice-Chair of the Agriculture Alumni Association and Class of 2015. “He was the type of professor that taught with a huge smile on his face and always made sure his students had knowledge and hands-on experience in each of his classes,” she added.  “I will always remember trying plantain in class and going on field trips to PEI to see potato producers and processors.”

Sam’s steady commitment to research, industry support and international relations helped to put the Agricultural Campus on the map, but it has been his commitment to teaching and creating experiences and connections for students that has really set him apart.

After growing up on his family’s farm in Ghana, Sam pursued an education in plant pathology from McGill University. He began his agricultural career in Canada in 1986 as the PEI Extension Potato Specialist and spent the following two years getting to know the potato industry intimately. As a result, he carried a passion for agriculture extension work throughout the rest of his career, continuing to provide instruction and training to industry members along with his students.

Sam has been teaching on the Agricultural Campus since 1988, starting as assistant professor and becoming full professor in 1996. When he started, his teaching portfolio included potato production, plant physiology, tropical agriculture and post-harvest physiology. He was also responsible for the international potato technology program, an extremely successful program that brought international students to campus to learn about seed potato production before returning to their home countries.

“No matter where I go, if I mention Dalhousie (or NSAC) and potatoes, Dr. Sam Asiedu’s name will enter the conversation,” said Andy Hammermeister, Chair, Plant, Food and Environmental Sciences.  “He has left a tremendous legacy through his student training, industry collaboration and international work. We all look forward to hearing Sam’s voice and inevitable laugh when he returns to visit!”

Sam was instrumental in international development projects throughout the 1990s and 2000s, leading or supporting many projects in Ghana, the Gambia, and China’s Gansu Province. On top of his project work, he also spent time developing curriculum and providing training in agriculture for students and industry personnel in Armenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Dominica, Uruguay, Venezuela, Peru, Jamaica, Ukraine, Romania, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. He was ultimately selected as the inaugural recipient of the Faculty of Agriculture’s Internationalization Award in 2001. He has also been recognized for his work by the People’s Republic of China with two prestigious awards: the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award in 2003 and the Friendship Award in 2007 - the highest award given by the Chinese government to foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the social and economic development of China.

“I am still in a daze, surprised, amazed and still savouring the event,” said Sam. “This has crowned my career. I am just so excited, grateful and thankful.”

But throughout all this work, Sam was always a professor first. He considered his most important role to be a teacher and advisor, making his students his top priority. He made regular practice of extending his industry and international connections to his students, bringing real life into the classroom whenever possible, or bringing his students to real life outside of the classroom. A big believer in the power of experience, he regularly took classes for industry tours to relevant farms and businesses, and he put a lot of effort into bringing students along on international trips, providing experiences to which they would not otherwise be exposed.

More recently, Sam has become involved with the Imhotep Legacy Academy’s (ILA) Culture of Growing program, a youth-led community garden and greenhouse program for students in grades 7 to 12 that contributes to community food security. The program aims to have a generation of young Black individuals that see the value in food production, know how to grow their own food and can capitalize on their gained skills through entrepreneurship. His commitment to ILA continues his impact within the African Nova Scotian community, a community he has nurtured for decades, much like his own students.

Dr. Sam Asiedu embodies the Aggie spirit through his appreciation of agriculture, learning and understanding the world, through dedication to the betterment of his communities and most of all, through his kindness and care.

Sam ‘the Potato Man’ retired this past December but his impact will be felt on campus for years to come.