Indigenous Food Preservation and Management of Postharvest Losses Among the Akan of Ghana

Abstract

The rapid population increase has consequences on food security in Africa. The policies of the colonialists protected European markets and discouraged the growth of indigenous agro- industries in Africa. In Ghana much food is produced during the harvest seasons but greater part of it gets rotten due to lack of preservation or storage facilities. Despite the negative attitude of the colonialists towards local products indigenous food preservation continued unabated although limited to the aging population in the rural areas. The purpose of this chapter is to share the Akan heritage of indigenous food preservation as a strategy to manage postharvest losses and ensure food security and sustainable livelihoods. The chapter which emanated from an ethnographic study used interviews and observations for data collection. The study found that the Akan communities without agro-industries use their indigenous knowledge and skills to preserve food and create jobs. The chapter concluded that in this era of Africa's rebirth its people should utilize indigenous food processing skills to reduce postharvest losses and ensure food security. It was recommended that the government of Ghana should provide financial support to make indigenous agro-industries sustainable.