The Centre for National Culture in the Eastern Region in collaboration with ONGA has organised a cooking competition for some selected Senior High Schools in the region.

The schools were paired with some public organisations to display their skills in the preparation of local dishes such as “motuo ne nkatekwan”(rice balls with groundnut soup), waakye with shito, “mpotompoto”, “tatale ne kontomire”, “apapransa ne koto”, “brode3 ampesie ne kontomire”, “tatale ne adua abomu”, “tuo zaafi ne ayoyo nkwan,” among others.

 At the end of the competition, Seventh-Day Adventist Senior High School paired with the Department of Agriculture emerged winners. New Juaben SHS and the Information Service Department (ISD) who prepared mpotompoto came second, whereas Bright SHS and the Ghana Immigration Service placed third after preparing “Tatale ne adua abomu”.

The others, Pentecost SHS and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) were fourth, Ghana SHS and the Ghana National Fire Service placed fifth, Oyoko Methodist SHS and the Ghana Revenue Authority were sixth while Ofori Panyin SHS and the Department of Gender, Children and Social Protection placed seventh in the competition.

The Municipal Chief Executive of New Juaben South Municipality, Mr. Isaac Apaw Gyesi urged the MDA’s to liaise with the Centre for National Culture in their respective districts to initiate programmes and activities to promote the cultural heritage of the country at all times.

He said that local foods and local language as part of Ghanaian culture “defines our identity at all times while it associates with a variety of health benefits, therefore I want to encourage Ghanaians to prioritise our local language and consume our respective local foods and products”.

He added that different varieties of food were associated with the ethnic groups across the regions of Ghana.

For his part, the Director of Policy Planning, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Commission for National Culture, Mr. Phil Richardson Commey underscored the need for Ghanaians to patronise locally manufactured goods and services to minimise the importation of foreign products into the country.

He said research had shown that local foods were much healthier for the human body compared with the imported foods which were the cause of the number of present diseases which were initially not found in the country.

He encouraged Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of backyard farming, a move he believed, would help promote the consumption of local foods in the country.

Mr. Commey urged the Ghana Education Service to revise the education curriculum by prioritising agriculture to promote the interest of local food consumption.

The contestants received certificates of participation and products from ONGA foods.

From: Kodjo David, Koforidua.