9 Introducing soya at the local level Introducing new foods into an area is not always easy. People eat what they are accustomed to, which is often determined by local traditions and these are difficult to change. New foods are often first greeted with suspicion. For this reason it is important to emphasize the good qualities of soya | 9 Introducing soya at the local level Introducing new foods into an area is not always easy. People eat what they are accustomed to which is often determined by local traditions and these are difficult to change. New foods are often first greeted with suspicion. For this reason it is important to emphasize the good qualities of soya and in particular its high nutritional value. A good way to introduce soya is to offer it along with the usual food of an area for example in the form of a snack or drink. Then it is perhaps worth mixing some soya beans into a vegetable sauce for people to try. In many parts of the world people eat beans that have been mashed . refried beans in South America and Mexico . Soya beans could be added to these dishes. Refried bean dishes are often heavily spiced which also makes the soya tasty. A good way to introduce soya into an area is through women s groups. Discovering a new crop and food together encourages people to exchange their findings and experiences with each other and to exchange recipes. In this way women can learn to make new meals and soya products that can be sold. These products can provide a new way of earning income to help increase food security. In Ghana there are women s groups that are actively working with the introduction of soya. They cultivate the soya together and work out ways of preparing soya products and look for ways of selling them on the local markets. It is not always women who cultivate soya everywhere. In some places it is the men who grow the soya. They could start by cultivating small test plots to see which crop has the best yield. The information in the first chapters of this book is useful for these experiments. The introduction of a new food requires time and patience. But if you are creative and persist you will be able to convince many people that soya not only enriches their farming system but also their daily diet. By setting a positive example locally you will win over people in the area.
