Mr. Alhassan Mohammed Sorogodoo, the Sangnerigu District Chief Executive (DCE) has appealed to Ghanaians to have strong taste for the local foods, especially, locally-produced rice, at social functions.

He said they should not consider it demeaning when served with these, pointing out that, the high preference by many for foreign cuisines had been making it almost impossible for organizers of programmes including state ones, to serve some local dishes, something that was unhelpful to the growth of the economy.

Mr.Sorogodoo, who made the appeal in Tamale during the handing over of a soy processing machine to the ‘Hapep Fingers’ for soy beverage processing underlined the need for increased consumption of the local rice and other made-in-Ghana goods to reduce the nation’s import bill.

Hapep Fingers is an indigenous beverage processing company in Tamale, engaged in the production of soy products using soy beans. It is owned by Hajia Hajara Ibrahim Taimako, a female entrepreneur.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under its Feed the Future-Ghana Agriculture Technology Transfer project (ATTP) handed over the machine and a building to the company at the ceremony.

Mr. Sorogodoo said, “We are all advocating for the consumption of local rice but when we are served with locally produced rice at functions some us consider it as either demeaning or lack of funds to purchase and cook foreign rice, which must stop”.

He commended USAID for its numerous projects in Tamale and said these were complementing the government’s efforts at transforming the lives of the people.

He pledged that the Metropolitan Assembly would continue to work closely with development partners to bring the needed development.

Mr. Mike Dockery, the Ghana Agriculture Technology Transfer (ATT) Chief of Party, said the US government would provide support towards the improvement food security and gave the assurance that it would embark on projects that had the potential to change lives.

Hajia Taimako said her company had been working with female farmers to cultivate soy beans - to be processed into various beverages for local consumption.

Hapep Fingers started working with just five women but the number had now increased to more than 40 and she expressed gratitude to the ATTP and US government for the support.

She spoke of the determination of the company to involve more female farmers as its contribution to the fight to reduce poverty and improve nutrition of the people in the Northern Region.