CSIR-Food Research Institute: annual report 2004

Abstract

The Food Research Institute was established by the Government of Ghana in 1963, and incorporated into the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as one of thirteen institutes in 1968. FRI has a mandate to conduct applied research into problems of food processing and preservation, storage, marketing, distribution and utilisation in support of the food industry, and also to advise government on it food policy. The Institute's mission focuses on providing scientific and technological support to the growth of the food and agricultural sectors in the national economy in line with government policy objectives. The Institute is divided into 7 Divisions, 4 of which address technical aspects of food quality and production; food microbiology, food chemistry, food processing & engineering and nutrition & socioeconomics. The remaining 3 Divisions deal with business development, administration and finance. The year under review saw the appointment of new 12 - Member Management Board for the Institute for a four-year term. Several other appointments were made including an Administrative Officer, Administrative Assistant, Technical Officer, Clerk Grade II and a Security Man. FRI maintained a total of 178 staff during the year under review, of which 41 were scientists and engineers, 56 senior technical and administrative support staff, and 81 junior members of staff in various supporting roles. The Institute maintained its bipartite structure, with the Director managing the 3 non-scientific Divisions (and with overall responsibility for all divisions and reporting to the Management Board), whilst the Deputy Director manages the 4 Scientific Divisions. The main programmes of the Institute during the year 2004 were centred on R&D activities for the solution of postharvest problems and also to generate income. The Institute measures and manages its performance using the balanced scorecard approach. The short term goal of the FRI under the current measurement framework is: To be a centre of excellence that conducts market-orientated research and provides accredited technical services to the food industry by 2008. During the year under review the Institute accomplished several of its Key Performance Indicators. On whole, the Institute performed better than the previous year on all the Scorecard Perspectives. The Commercialisation process of the Institute continued and the following areas were the major sources of income: Consultancies, Collaborative Research, Equipment fabrication & Hire of Facilities, Sale of Research By-Products, Technical and Analytical Services and Training. The percentage of Internally Generated Fund (lGF) as percentage of subvention was 4.23%. Although Collaborative Research does not directly contribute to the calculated IGF it was the mainstay of the Institute and brought the ratio to 29.40 % of subvention. The R&D output for the year was quite good with over 50 Publications. Five refereed journal papers, twenty-seven edited research reports, ten conference papers and eleven consultancy reports, manuals etc were published within the year by the scientists of the Institute. The year under review saw a high number of participation in local and international conferences by staff