Rich-healthy indigenous foods that are no longer common on the grocery list of Ghanaians are highly sought after in the international market, says the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The CSIR’s Director in charge of Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute at Bunso in the Eastern Region, Dr Daniel Ashie Kotey, in a radio interview with Accra-based Joy FM and reported by the Graphic Online on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 said, “the West is looking for these, our indigenous stuff, which are way healthier, and they are pricing them higher,” he said.
He noted that many traditional crop varieties once widely found in Ghanaian homes are now becoming rare, with some nearly disappearing from both farming and daily diets.
“There is a quiet emergency in our food and farming systems. Indigenous varieties are disappearing from our tables and also our farms. And we, as the National Gene Bank, our responsibility is to make sure that this loss is not irreversible,” Dr Kotey said.
He said the development could lead to permanent loss of valuable plant genetic resources if steps were not taken to preserve them.
After observing the demand for these crops, Dr Kotey said the Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute at Bunso has been storing these plants.
Backup collections
He disclosed that duplicate collections of Ghana’s plant genetic resources are also stored at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
Dr Kotey also revealed that Ghana deposited seeds at the facility in October 2023, becoming the 100th institution worldwide to do so.
The deposit included varieties of maize, rice, eggplant, and cowpea.
“If we lose everything in Ghana, we can recall some of this material,” he said.
Dr Kotey cited water yam, locally known as ‘AfaseƐ’, as one of the indigenous crops that had become less common despite its former popularity for preparing ‘fufuo’.
He said yellow yam, known as ‘Mankani’, was also declining, while African rice, Oryza glaberrima, a species domesticated in West Africa, had largely been replaced by Asian rice varieties.
“We have abandoned it for japonica,” he said.
According to Dr Kotey, the reduction in crop diversity is not limited to crops that have disappeared from farms. He explained that even crops that remain widely cultivated are losing some of their traditional varieties.
He cited cowpea, which is used in the preparation of ‘GobƐ’ (gari and beans), as an example.
“The ones that had long cooking times, we have abandoned them,” he said.
He added that consumer preference is also a major factor. They now preferred larger-seeded varieties that cooked more quickly, reducing demand for older varieties.
“Even within that group, we are narrowing down,” he said.
Gene bank
The CSIR’s Director in charge of Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute said the institute serves as Ghana’s repository of plant genetic resources and presently conserves about 6,000 accessions covering a wide range of crops.
The collection includes more than 600 varieties each of maize, rice and cowpea, as well as over 300 varieties of tomato and pepper.
The institute also conserves indigenous leafy vegetables such as ayoyo, ademe and alefu, together with crops including African yam bean, pigeon pea and bambara groundnut.
He said the Bunso-based institute differs from many gene banks around the world because it conserves numerous crop species under one facility rather than specialising in a single crop.
Dr Kotey explained that seeds capable of being dried without losing viability are stored at five degrees Celsius for working collections and at minus 20 degrees Celsius for long-term conservation.
He added that crops such as cassava andyamsm, which do not survive drying, are maintained through tissue culture under controlled laboratory conditions.
Threats
Dr Kotey attributed the decline in indigenous crop varieties to changing consumer preferences, climate change, urbanisation and farming practices that affect biodiversity.
“Our kids no longer eat some of the things that we used to eat,” he said.
He explained that when consumers stop eating particular crops, farmers lose the incentive to cultivate them.
Dr Kotey also said Ghana was missing economic opportunities linked to indigenous crops, noting that some of them were attracting growing demand in international niche markets.
He cited baobab as an example, saying countries outside Africa were developing commercial products from the crop while it remained largely underutilised in Ghana.
“Over here, we have left it in the wild,” he said.
Access to varieties
Dr Kotey said the institute’s work goes beyond conservation and includes making planting materials available to farmers, researchers, plant breeders and students.
He explained that people seeking crop varieties that are no longer commercially available could obtain them from the institute.
Where demand exists, the institute multiplies conserved materials in the field to make adequate quantities available for distribution.
“The value of what we do is justified by use. If we collect and conserve and nobody uses them, there’s no point,” he said.
The institute is located about five minutes from the Linda Dor Junction on the Accra-Kumasi highway.
“We make sure that the chapters of our food heritage are not lost forever. We are the library that makes sure that future generations can have access to these things,” Dr Kotey said.
Source: Graphic Online
