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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development
Rural Outreach Program
ISSN: 1684-5358 EISSN: 1684-5358
Vol. 18, No. 2, 2018, pp. 13406-13419
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Bioline Code: nd18040
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Vol. 18, No. 2, 2018, pp. 13406-13419
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APPLICATION OF A VALUE CHAIN APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING WHITE KENKEY PRODUCTION, VENDING AND CONSUMPTION PRACTICES IN THREE DISTRICTS OF GHANA
Oduro-Yeboah, C; Amoa-Awua, W; Saalia, FK; Bennett, B; Annan, T; Sakyi- Dawson, E & Anyebuno, G
Abstract
Traditional processing and street vending of foods is a vital activity in the informal sector
of the Ghanaian economy and offers livelihood for a large number of traditional food
processors. Kenkey is a fermented maize ‘dumpling’ produced by traditional food
processors in Ghana. Ga and Fante kenkey have received research attention and there is
a lot of scientific information on kenkey production. White kenkey produced from
dehulled maize grains is a less known kind of kenkey. A survey was held in three districts
of Ghana to study production, vending and consumption of white kenkey and to identify
major bottlenecks related to production, which can be addressed in studies to re-package
kenkey for a wider market. Questionnaires were designed for producers, vendors and
consumers of white kenkey to collate information on Socio-cultural data, processing
technologies, frequency of production and consumption, product shelf life, reasons for
consumption and quality attributes important to consumers using proportional sampling.
The survey was conducted in white kenkey production zones and trade centers. Results
showed that production of white kenkey is done on small-scale levels by middle-aged
women in households with 10-50 kg of dehulled maize processed into white kenkey, 1-3
times weekly. A third (28%) of the women processed up to 50-100 kg of maize per week.
Although 62% of vendors sell 50-100 balls of white kenkey daily, 15% of them sell more
than 170 balls. Majority of consumers (45.9%) liked white kenkey because of its
convenience (ready-to-eat). Texture and taste were quality attributes desired by kenkey
consumers. Producers did not have written records of process controls and product
throughputs. Inspite of their cottage nature, production of white kenkey is a profitable
employment for producers and vendors and is popular among consumers. Product
improvement, process and product characteristics could offer scale-up criteria for
development of white kenkey production using standardized procedures for steeping
times, steeping temperature and fermentation times.
Keywords
maize; white kenkey; value chain; traditional; product development; re-engineering
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