Food Bazaar Held In Tamale

A food Bazaar to showcase the nutritional value of locally produced rice and encourage patronage among residents within the northern region has been held in Tamale. The event organized by a Tamale based events management company Tumalana and sponsored by SNV-Ghana a Dutch International Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) was aimed at correcting the negative perception among the citizenry that locally produced rice not of high nutritional value. The event was particularly aimed at promoting the consumption of a new variety of locally produced rice under the theme �Local Rice Farmers can feed West Africa� was being championed by the donor agency. The new variety of the local rice introduced onto the Ghanaian market was used to prepare dishes for patrons who visited the ground of the bazaar to have a taste of the meals described by organizers to be of high nutritional value. Iddrisu Abdul-Rashid Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tumalana noted that the local rice was the best to be consumed by residents especially during the yuletide and encourage operators of restaurants in the region to consider serving meals made from local rice. According to him, it would give income to local farmers as well as create a platform for residents to derive health benefits from consuming local rice compared to the imported perfumed rice noted to contain fewer nutrients. He disclosed that SNV has over the years supported farmers with seedlings and other inputs to ensure that local rice production is given a boost to meet the West African market and beyond. Togo Marshal a variety of the local rice was used in preparing fried rice, waakye, rice balls, jollof rice, dawadawa jollof and plain rice to showcase its potential as compared to the foreign rice. There was an eating competition and other activities on the sidelines to serve as sight attraction for the event which begun at dawn and ended at dusk. Several patrons at the event commended the organizers of the event and expressed hope that similar ones would be held in the future to promote the production and consumption of local rice in the region