FAO Helps Ghana Bushmeat Traders Improve Food Safety

For years, women selling bushmeat at Kumasi's Atwemonom Market relied on practices passed down through generations, believing they were the best way to preserve and sell their products. Today, many of those traders are adopting safer food handling methods after receiving practical training from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), helping protect both their customers and their families.

"Before FAO came, we thought this was simply how bushmeat should be sold because it was how our mothers did it. Today we know that protecting our customers also protects our families," said Comfort Baidoo, a trader at Atwemonom Market.

Women at the Heart of a Vital Trade

Every morning before sunrise, traders prepare smoked and fresh bushmeat for customers arriving from different parts of Kumasi. For many families, the trade provides the income needed to pay school fees, cover medical expenses and meet daily household needs.

Bushmeat in Ghana includes wild animals such as grasscutters, duikers, bushbuck, porcupines, monkeys and other small mammals. While it remains an important source of animal protein, poor handling practices can increase the risk of foodborne illnesses and diseases that spread between animals and humans.

Many traders also faced challenges such as limited access to clean storage facilities, inadequate protective equipment and poor hygiene conditions, making it difficult to maintain food safety throughout the trading day.

Training Designed Around Traders' Needs

To address these issues, FAO partnered with local authorities and the Bushmeat Traders Association through its Better Nutrition programme. Rather than introducing ready-made solutions, the organization first met with traders to understand their daily routines, working conditions and the practical challenges they faced while transporting, storing and selling bushmeat.

The discussions shaped a programme that responded directly to the traders' needs. More than 50 women received hands-on training covering good hygiene practices, safe meat handling, personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, good manufacturing practices and the prevention of foodborne diseases. The sessions focused on practical techniques that participants could immediately use in their businesses.

Better Equipment Brings Visible Changes

Alongside the training, FAO supplied insulated ice chests, protective aprons, gloves and other essential equipment to help traders improve the safe handling and storage of bushmeat.

The improvements quickly became noticeable across the market. More traders began wearing protective clothing, keeping their workspaces cleaner and paying closer attention to hand hygiene and safe storage. Customers also responded positively, expressing greater confidence in buying products from traders who demonstrated higher hygiene standards.

The women have since shared their new knowledge with fellow traders, encouraging others to adopt safer practices while promoting cleaner trading environments throughout the market.

Building Stronger Food Systems

The initiative highlights the important contribution women make to Ghana's food system, particularly within the informal economy where they supply food to thousands of households each day. Strengthening their skills and improving working conditions not only supports public health but also helps build more resilient local food systems.

At the end of the training, the traders celebrated their achievement with a slogan they created in Twi: "FAO, Yɛ Yɛ Neat!", meaning "FAO, We Are Neat!" The phrase has become a symbol of their commitment to cleanliness, safer food handling and greater pride in their profession.