CSIR Food Research Institute Launches Agbenu Beverage for Commercialization
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Food Research Institute (FRI) has taken a bold step towards the commercialization of all its research findings. In a bid to achieve this, the institute has created a unit that will serve as an interface between its research findings and other commercial entities, including Small Scale Enterprises (SMEs), individuals, and processors who seek to go into businesses for successful commercialization of its research findings.
The FRI’s Director, Professor Charles Tortoe, made this announcement during the launch of the institute’s latest product, Agbenu, a beverage made from soya and millet. The word Agbenu is an Ewe term derived from “Agbenudunu” meaning “life-giving.” Professor Tortoe explained that the beverage is aimed at enriching nutritional content and improving macro and micro nutrients in the human system.
The product was a research finding carried out by the FRI and sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation sponsored the FRI to conduct research into the product, dubbed the GC-Fermented Foods-Soyamilk-burkina in Ghana. Two siblings, Dr. Richard L.K. Glover and Dr. Mrs. Mary Glover-Amengor, led the research under the title, the “Grand Challenge on Integrating Tradition and Technology for fermented Foods for Maternal Nutrition.”
Dr. Richard L.K. Glover said the project was to investigate the effects of intake of soymilk-burkina, a novel Ghanaian indigenous fermented milk and millet beverage (smoothie), on the gut microbiome and nutritional status of women of reproductive age living in the Volta and Oti Regions of Ghana.
Dr. Mrs. Mary Glover-Amengor, who works with the FRI, said the drink is made with either dairy/powdered milk or soy milk and millet. However, the Soymilk substitution would enhance the nutritional and health benefits of burkina, while the use of soymilk in its production would ultimately boost the soybean market that findings being promoted, to enhance livelihoods of local farmers in Ghana.
The CSIR and FRI are excited about commercializing their research findings. Professor Tortoe said the institute was coming out with more unique products like Agbenu that they were seeking to commercialize to individuals and processors, thereby improving the value actors on the soy value chain. This would lead to more production, processing, and market of the soya bean.
For the most part, the launch of Agbenu is a significant milestone towards commercializing the institute’s research findings. The commercialization of the product will not only benefit the FRI but will also improve the livelihoods of farmers, processors, and traders in the soybean market. The research findings will no longer remain on the shelves but will be accessible to SMEs and individuals who seek to go into businesses for successful commercialization.