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Scientists call for policy interventions to prevent significant losses of fruits and vegetables in Ghanaian markets.
Nutrition experts and collaborators believe that this is crucial to improve the availability, access and consumption of fruits and vegetables, which could help prevent overweight and obesity.
The team of scientists was attending a consultative workshop and meeting as part of the project Obesogenic Food Environment Research (ROFE) in South Africa and Ghana.
Overweight and obesity, which are increasing in Ghana, are important risk factors for hypertension, diabetes, cancer and other noncommunicable diseases.
An important factor in overweight and obesity is the consumption of highly processed, energy-dense foods, which are becoming more commonplace due to the changing of the food environment into a more challenging environment. obesogenic.
Meanwhile, fruits and vegetables, which protect against obesity, are less available and consumed, and are affected by post-harvest losses.
Research on Obesogenic Food Environments (ROFE) is a three-year joint study between Ghana and South Africa.
Khayelitsha and Mount Frere in South Africa, as well as Ahodwo and Ejuratia in Ghana, were selected for this study.
The project, funded by the International Development Research Center, seeks to understand the changing nature of marketed food products in poor communities in both countries.
The first phase evaluated food intake and decision making. The second phase focuses on the badysis of the value chain of certain healthy and obese foods.
The third phase badyzed governance and the political economy and identified political opportunities to improve the health of the local food market.
Preliminary results suggest that Ghana's environment is inundated with foods that increase the risk of obesity and badociated complications, including imported chicken, sugary drinks and cookies. It also appeared that unhealthy foods were more popular with young people, women and low incomes.
The consultative workshop, which is part of phase 3 of the project, brought together stakeholders from universities, governments, civil society organizations, development partners and the media to discuss possible policy levers for improve the safety of the local food environment.
The researchers embarked on a learning journey by visiting Darko Farms in Kumasi, food warehouses, vendors and shopping malls.
Learning trips are a way of getting to know a group of people who share the same interests in a particular problem (food environment), but who have different positions and perspectives on the realities, experiences and current stories of the people in the world. more directly affected by the problem.
This exhibition is an entry into a deeper understanding of working with the food environment and in a deeper engagement with each other on how to deal with these realities.
Dr. Reginald Adjetey Annan, principal researcher of the ROFE Ghana team, said that the learning pathway was necessary to equip stakeholders with the tool to better deal with identified problems.
Workshop participants observed high losses of fruits and vegetables, including oranges, pineapples and watermelons, at the open market visited in Kumasi. Merchants deplore the losses, due to exposure to the sun, lack of storage facilities and improper handling.
Dr. Charles Apprey, a member of the ROFE team, suggested the need to have refrigeration facilities for fruits and vegetables, as has been observed in other countries, including the US. ;South Africa. This helps to regulate ripening and prevents deterioration.
Professor Aryeetey, attending the workshop, observed that the non-segmentation of the market had not encouraged the consumption of fresh produce. "The same vendors selling processed foods sell fresh produce and most processed products are cheaper and attractive and they have no other choice. than to buy, "
He advocates subsidies for vendors of fresh produce to encourage consumption.
Kamil Mohammed of the Policy Analysis Unit of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture urges urban farmers to make fresh foods available to consumers.
"It can make food products easily accessible in the local market, allowing people to have easy access to healthy food," he said.
Mr. Mohammed also encouraged proper handling of food to reinforce favoritism, stating, "We must have appropriate standards."
Dr. Kingsley Pereko, president of the Ghana Association for Nutrition, said the country's food regulations were not adapted to the changing food environment.
"The oldest existing laws have not really anticipated some of the events we are looking at. Food regulation is focused on processed foods entering the country, "he said.
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