Some members of the John Agyekum Kufour Foundation have revealed that non-inclusion of some traditional food products is among factors that militate against the fight against malnutrition and hunger.
They emphasise that the patronage of what they have termed adopted crops such as soya beans to the detriment of Ghanaian semi-wild traditional crops like sorghum which has equal nutrient deepens the gap between malnutrition and end hunger.
The World Food Programme projects a zero hunger regime by ending hunger in the world and increase food security by 2030 per the Sustainable Development Goal 2.
This has called for the rolling out of several interventions across the globe. One of such interventions is the John Agyekum Foundation which has been mandated by the World Food Programme to champion the crusade against hunger in Ghana.
To this effect, the Former President of Ghana’s foundation has constituted a research team to gather information from across the country to be embedded into the Food and Nutrition Strategy for Ghana to ensure food security.
The team was in Tamale to hold the 3rd Zonal Meeting to formulate a research document which will be put into the country’s policy on Food Security and Malnutrition to meet the 2030 zero hunger projection.
Over-emphasizing of some dried food products which may not be high in nutritional content, accessibility and availability of food emerged as the critical issues affecting the fight against hunger.
“We seem to be emphasizing on food products that are brought in from other countries than what we cultivate which equally is high in nutrition,” Professor Baffour Agyemang-Duah, a member of the JAK Foundation, said.
“We have made much noise of soya beans but vegetables which we cultivate are nutritious and can help in ending hunger and malnutrition. That’s not to say those crops aren’t good but we have to emphasize on our traditional crops as well.”
The research team consists of agriculturalist, nutritionists, economists, social protection ad health experts.
They expressed worry that most of the semi-wild food though can be found in Ghana especially during the lean season have been abandoned for food that come from other countries and not pocket-friendly.
A lecturer at the University for Development Studies, Professor Saa Dittoh, wants government and stakeholders to begin championing the patronage of sorghum, millet, and other semi-wild food which are found in Ghana.
“Guinea fowl is the best meat you can find but we import frozen chicken which are less in protein.”
A lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Matilda Asiedu, also revealed the non-inclusion of men in keeping the home, especially in nutrition, as also increasing the challenges in the fight against hunger.
She indicated the inability of men to provide the right food for their children in the absence of their wives, exposing their children to malnutrition.
“Children tend to buy food when their mothers aren’t home because their fathers can’t cook so we need to involve the men especially where we know the instructions of men supersedes any other instructions so what they want to eat is what we cook and so teach the children how to cook nutritious meals.”
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