Maize quality, processing and utilization research in Ghana

Abstract

Maize is the leading cereal produced and consumed in Ghana. It features prominently in the diets of the various ethnic groups in the country from the coastal belt to the savannah areas of the north. A lot of research has been carried out into the crop in Ghana and the country has a comparative advantage in the West African sub-region with regard to scientific capability and research into maize. However, almost all our scientific efforts have been in the areas of breeding agronomy and protection and little research attention has been paid to processing and utilisation of the crop in Ghana. The main research institutions involved in research into maize quality, processing and utilisation in Ghana are Food Research Institute, Crps Research Institute, the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana and the Department of Biochemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Under a FRI/GLOBAL 2000 Project, some maize varieties were screened and Dobidi had the highest value for test weight and 1000 kernel weight. Under the National Agricultural Research Project (NARP), 8 varieties of maize by the Crops Research Institute were evaluated for their physico-chemical and functional properties. GH-2328-88 was found to be the most desirable variety for both kenkey and porridge. Work at the Crops Research Institute centred mainly on the evaluation of the protein quality and assessment of mixtures of Quality Protein Maize and legumes for food modelling studies