Food Research Institute outdoors new yam products

The Food Research Institute of the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has out-doored three new products made from yam.

The products, according to the Institute, should make it more convenient for restaurants and households that wish to use yam in their menus.

They were out-doored at a workshop in Accra to discuss how to make investment in roots and tubers more attractive.

The developers believe having yam pre-cooked, in crisps form and combined with legume as flour will make for easier preparation and conservation.

The yam and legume flour can be made into pudding or other pastry while the yam crisp can be consumed as a snack.

The precooked vacuum yam as its name suggests is partly cooked and frozen to cut down on the length of time it takes to cook.

Lead Consultant on the yam project, Dr. Charles Tortoe explains the project also aims at reducing post-harvest losses.

“Over the years, there have been 30 to 38 per cent of post-harvest loses. We thought of a way to reduce post-harvest loses and convenient forms that come out of yams was the best option. The yam flour comes with legumes and soya blend. It is good for puddings and can be used for pastry.”

The Food Research Institute is calling on investors and entrepreneurs to take up the technology to commercialize the product pledging to provide technical support to interested entrepreneurs.

The three products were developed with the support of the West African Agriculture Productivity Program. and the Mitsubishi Research Institute of Japan.

Senior Project Manager of Mitsubishi Research Institute, Yoshihiko Kato, says this can be a profitable venture for entrepreneurs.

“We have to be aware of the versatility of this crop. In the case of Japan, we started from domestic market and now it has been exported to Taiwan and other countries in Asia. So you have to start from the domestic market and when they find the value, there will be plenty of investors.”

Dr. Tortoe tells Joy News, the public in a survey seem quite excited about the three products and remains optimistic about its prospects on the market.