A demonstration exercise to encourage the patronage and consumption of Orange Fleshed Sweet Potatoes (OFSP) has taken place at Ticheli Community in the Tamale Metropolis.
The exercise, organized by the Women In Agricultural Development (WIAD) department of the Tamale Metro Agriculture office saw the orange fleshed sweet potatoes being used to prepare various food dishes for women groups in two communities.
About seventy (70) women from Nanton-Zuo and Ticheli benefitted from the training.
The training which is the first of its kind for the two communities was aimed at empowering the women on best nutritional and economic practices to enhance their livelihood enhancement and providing household needs.
The officer in charge of the WIAD’s food demonstration and utilization at the Tamale Metro Agriculture office, Madam Salatu Abubakari in an exclusive interview with Diamond News said she was happy for the active participation of the women especially the younger ones and urged them to adopt any of the varieties of dishes on display in commercial ventures to improve their incomes.
She highlighted the health and nutritional benefits of the OFSP to children from six months and above and adults alike in households and encouraged the women to utilize it to their advantage.
The women were divided into groups to select a dish through a charade. The dishes included pudding, drinks, cake, TZ, chips with porridge and rice with aleefu stew all of which were prepared using the OFSP.
At the end of the training, some participating women shared the benefits they derived from the training. They included Zeinab Abdulai from Nanton-Zuo, Sahada Mohammed and Adamu Abdul Rahaman from Ticheli.
Speaking on behalf of their colleague beneficiaries, they said, “The coming of the agric office people to this community has taught us a lot today about the orange fleshed sweet potatoes and its uses. Previously, we didn’t know that we can prepare various food items with the potatoes. From petepete to TZ, porridge, chips, rice and aleefu stew among others. These are all good for household consumption. So these are the benefits of our session today. So we are grateful for this training. We used to hear of the orange fleshed sweet potatoes on radio but we didn’t know of these benefits till today. I have come from Zuo for this training and I haven’t regretted. We have been eating the orange fleshed sweet potatoes but we never knew it could be used to prepare TZ. So we are grateful…”
The training on the nutritional benefits of the OFSP followed a similar training on Soya Unitilization for women in Changnaayili and Guunaayili. A similar training session on the OFSP will take place at Sanzirigu for women along that stretch.
The agriculture extension agent for the Vittin catchment area, Ziblim Mohammed encouraged the women to form groups in order to tap from each other’s experience on the benefits they have derived from the training.
