Professor David Asamoah, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has called for increased investment in indigenous food systems as a pathway to achieving zero hunger in Ghana, Africa and across the world.
He described traditional foods as “more than cultural symbols” and being nutritious, climate-smart, and sustainable, which protected biodiversity, strengthen rural livelihoods and offer practical solutions to food insecurity and malnutrition.
Speaking at the KNUST Food Festival 2026 in Kumasi, Prof Asamoah encouraged the university community to reflect on the rich knowledge embedded in local food systems and their relevance to addressing contemporary global challenges.
The KNUST Food Festival 2026, which was held on the theme “Our Heritage on the Plate: Indigenous Foods for a Hunger-Free Future” was used to showcase Ghanaian foods – cooked, uncooked, processed and others researched for medicinal purposes. 
The festival brought together students, researchers, food processors, and food vendors within and around the KNUST community.
Prof Asamoah noted that, embracing indigenous foods required aligning culture with science and tradition with innovation, adding that, KNUST was proud to contribute to leadership in this global agenda.
He said the University’s role as the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) SDG Two – Zero Hunger Hub Vice Chair for Teaching Education for the 2025-2027 period, reaffirmed its responsibility to educate, innovate and inspire action toward sustainable food systems for Ghana and the rest of the world.
Prof. Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwah, President, Ghana Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (GhAFoST), attributed Ghana’s food insecurity challenge to broken food systems, weak value chains and the under-prioritization of indigenous knowledge and local food resources.
He said it was important for “Africa to feed Africa, and Ghana to feed Ghana, using solutions that are homegrown, rooted in our environment, in our culture and our collective ingenuity”.
Prof. Afoakwah, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Ghana Communication Technology University, called on universities to move beyond theoretical instructions and ensure research translated into practical solutions capable of producing more innovators than job seekers.
He advised the need to reposition indigenous foods as modern, appealing and suitable for contemporary lifestyles.
“We must reconnect science with culture, ensuring that innovation builds upon indigenous knowledge.”
Prof Philip Antwi-Agyei, Provost of the College of Science, KNUST, emphasizing the importance of the Food Festival, said its objectives were geared towards addressing national and global food security challenges.
He explained that food insecurity must simply not be about scarcity but should bother on access, affordability, sustainability, nutrition and resilience.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/George-Ramsey Benamba
Feb. 16, 2026
