Consultancy report on training of trainers on the use of composite flour from 25th-26th of November, 2020 at Effia-Kwesimentim Municipal Assembly office, Takoradi, Western region

Abstract

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Institute (CSIR) in collaboration with Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) over the years have become a driving force for technology transfer programs under the Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) project which is sponsored by the Canadian government. This project aims to empower capacity building among women and youth, creates employment and improve livelihoods in Ghana. To achieve this, a workshop was organized by the Western Regional Extension Farmer Linkage Committee (RELC), and MOFA-Directorate of Agricultural Extension Service (DAES) in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Food Research Institute on the Training of Trainers workshop on use of composite flour from root crops and wheat flour. The training was held at Effia-Kwesimentim Municipal Assembly Office, Western Region from 25th to 26th November, 2020. The participants were eleven (11) females and nine (9) males which included WIAD officers, Municipal Agriculture Officers (MAO)-Extension, processor and farmers. The welcome address was given by Mrs. Linda Arhin, Western Regional RELC Coordinator who reiterated the commitment of Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Institute (CSIR) in improving the income and productivity of people’s life through transfer of agriculture research findings. She further challenged field officers to be equipped with requisite skills and knowledge from the workshop to train farmers in the district and region. Additionally, Mrs. Prospera Anku, Deputy Director, MOFA-DAES advised the participants on the importance of adding value to plantain and cassava to extend its shelf life and applications. The overall objective was to train field officers on the use of composite flours from plantain and High quality cassava in order to intensify the utilization of local crops and reduce foreign exchange use in wheat flour importation. This will go a long way to reduce postharvest losses of these crops. The actual goal in the workshop was to understand key concepts and principles in composite flour production, understand the processes involved in flour production. The various topics centered on the basics of food processing, production and value addition to green plantain and high quality cassava flour. The trainees were involved in hands-on training