Ghana Soy Food Festival tackles food security challenges

The 2024 Soy Food Festival Ghana 2024, hosted by the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) on September 19th in Accra, has highlighted soy’s potential to boost food security in the country and across Africa.

Under the theme “Collaborate, innovate, transform: the future of soy in Ghana,” the event brought together over 600 stakeholders from the soy value chain, to showcase soy-based products.

Dr. Solomon Gyan Ansah of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, speaking at the event, underscored the importance of private sector involvement in enhancing food security.

“If we want to improve food security in Ghana, the government cannot do it all, private sector, donor agencies and partners must come in so we can reach our food security needs and even export”, Dr. Gyan Ansah noted.

Ghana has made great strides in reducing malnutrition. However, food security remains an issue, with 39.4 percent of the population suffering moderate or severe food insecurity as of 2022.

As global food systems face increasing pressures, soy is emerging as a sustainable and versatile crop capable of addressing nutritional and agricultural challenges across the continent.

WISHH aims to promote health, nutrition and food security in Ghana and across Africa.

Building on the successes of the first Soy Food Festival held in Uganda in September 2023, the Ghana edition sought to raise awareness about the many opportunities in the soy value chain and to create partnerships between soy experts, innovators, and entrepreneurs from Ghana and the U.S geared towards the broader goal of promoting food security within the continent.

Rolf Olson, Chargé d’Affaires (CDA) of the U.S. Embassy in Ghana highlighted some of the initiatives implemented by WISHH in partnership with farmers in Ghana.

Gena Perry, Executive Director of WISHH, on her part, emphasised soy’s role in shaping the future of food saying, “Today, we’re not just talking about soy; we’re envisioning a future where collaboration drives innovation, and innovation transforms lives”.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gyan Ansah further highlighted the government’s commitment to boosting food security through strategic partnerships in soy research and development.

The event featured a panel discussion dubbed ‘collaborative innovation: transforming Ghana’s soy sector’. This presented a platform for over 200 in-person and 400 online participants from the soy value chain, including farmers, researchers, nutritionists, and entrepreneurs to discuss how research and technology can increase soy productivity and how soy-based nutrition can be a sustainable solution for food security.

There was also the Soy World Exhibition, where a diverse range of soy-based products and the latest research from institutions like the University of Florida and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, were showcased, demonstrating soy’s adaptability in both food and feed production.

By providing a platform for networking and collaboration, the Soy Food Festival Ghana laid the foundation for future initiatives, through partnerships, that will advance the soy industry across Africa.

About WISHH

The World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) is a programme of the American Soybean Association that aims to improve food security by connecting trade and development in emerging and developing markets.

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