Report on training of agric extension officers on fruits juice processing and soya milk production held on 11th and 12th August 2021 at North East regional department of agrivulture

Abstract

The Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) Project is geared towards impact measurement and capacity building across the districts and regions of Ghana. As part of the project, a workshop was organized by the North East region RELC in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Food Research Institute to train processors on reducing postharvest losses of some selected fruits (watermelon and pineapple). This was held at the North East Regional Department of Agriculture from the 11th to 12th August, 2020. A total of eighteen Agric extension officers were involved. Twelve (12) participants were males and six (6) were females. The welcome address was given by Mr Abednego Abosore, Regional Director of Agric. In his speech, he highlighted on postharvest losses of watermelon as a major challenge in the region and therefore applaud the commitment of Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in addressing post-harvest losses within the agriculture sector through the adoption of appropriate technologies. He therefore urged participants to acquire knowledge and skills involved in fruits and soya milk processing from the facilitators so as to transfer the technology to other processors. The overall objective of the workshop was to train agric extension officers from various district within the region on how to properly handle post-harvest losses of watermelons and pineapple as well as processing of milk from soya beans. Specifically, key concepts of postharvest management of fruits were defined, techniques involved in fruits juice processing were established, methods involved in soya milk production and other value added soybean product were identified. For fruits juice, the topics covered includes: Basics of Food processing, Importance of Food Preservation, Processing of fruits juice, Food safety and Food packaging. Also topics on soya milk production focused on Importance of value addition, Varieties of soya bean in Ghana, Method for soya milk production, Types of processing equipment, Factors to consider during production, Value added soya bean product and Quality measures. In addition, Hands-on training and practical sessions were adapted to involve all participants of the workshop. Also participants were encouraged to train other processors on fruits juice and soya milk production. The expectations of the participants and facilitators of the workshop include the following; understand basic principles of food processing, importance of food preservation, be equipped with techniques and principles of processing of fruits juice and soya milk, understand and apply the basic principles of food safety and be equipped with techniques of food packaging. Mr. Papa Toah Akonor took the participants through a power points presentation on the basics of food processing, food preservation, food safety and packaging. His presentation was followed by a practical demonstration on fruits juice processing which was led by Ms. Winfred Arthur. Mr Frank Peget began the second day’s activity with a power points presentation on Importance of value addition, Varieties of soya bean in Ghana, Method for soya milk production, Types of processing equipment, Factors to consider during production, Value added soya bean product and Quality measures to observe. He continued with the practical demonstration on soya milk production shortly after his presentation. There was also a business development session which was led by Mr Jeremiah Lartey Brown. His presentation mainly focused on Book keeping, Market Mix, Product life cycle, Marketing and branding strategies. Participants were given the opportunity to ask questions on all topics discussed and also to evaluate the whole training programme. These questions and concerns were duly addressed by facilitators and organizers respectively