A Danish-Ghanaian business-to-business partnership is building local capacity for value addition in the meat and food industry in Kumasi. The collaborative initiative of the Danish International Development Agency, DANIDA has helped established an indigenous Ghanaian meat manufacturing plant with Danish standards. The Santinos Fine Meats and Sausages Limited specializes in the retail sale and wholesale distribution of beef, chicken, pork, lamb and goat. With over ten years of experience in the industry, Santinos provides healthy and high quality animal products from its own farm. The company has been supported to put up a state-of-the-art meat processing plant and meat shop in the Ashanti region. Ole Rene Soren Sen of Denmark’s ‘mad med mere’ [food and good service] company, says food hygiene is a topmost priority in the business co-operation. Managing Director of Santinos, David Kwabena Ntim told Luv Biz Report the meat shop serves as an expression of Santinos’ concern for food safety in meat processing. “Ghana is a protein starved country. We need to get proper protein into these growing children so that a child in a classroom with a balanced meal will absorb more in learning than a hungry child. That difference is what we’re trying to cover here… what you are is what you eat,” he observed. Mr. Ntim said the medium term plan is to empower majority of the youth into venture meat processing as a profession. “Part of it is to build a slaughter house in which the animals will be slaughtered under very hygienic conditions and then moved into the processing plant; so that’s under construction. Another facet of it is to build manure handling systems for the farm so that everything is environmentally safe. Then in addition is the training of the young Ghanaian men and women because the technology and skill transfer alone is fantastic,” he stated.