YEMI OLAKITAN
The Federal Government sometime ago introduced the cassava flour policy to encourage facilitate the blending of well-processed high quality cassava flour with wheat flour to reduce import dependency in the bakery and confectionaries sub-sector by at least by 40 per cent, yet it seems that most Nigeria are yet to taste the cassava flour. Head of Investigations, Yemi Olakitan, examines how the policy implementation has fared.
When the Federal Government introduced the cassava bread initiative as part of its Agricultural Transformation Agenda, ATA, Nigerians received it with mixed feelings though the consensus appeared to be that this was necessary to reduce the huge wheat import bill which was close to N650bn yearly.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, headed by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, was however able to create the necessary publicity to encourage Nigerians to embrace the introduction of the composite cassava bread into the market. President Goodluck Jonathan in Aso Villa, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo were some of the first official consumers of the new bread, eating fresh loaves in public view.
The Federal Government’s argument was that the initiative would encourage increased cultivation of cassava on a commercial scale, drive down cost for bakers and already established user of cassava products, save foreign exchange from reduction in wheat imports with the overall effect of creating more job opportunities in the agricultural and agro-allied processing sectors.
Efforts by the Federal Government to reduce wheat flour in bread dates back to the 1960s. The whole idea was to improve on agro-output to make Nigeria self-reliant in production of certain staple food crops and subsequently save huge foreign exchange committed to flour importation.
The advocacy heightened in 2004 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo visited the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, FIIRO, Lagos. The visit prompted government to initiate a policy towards achieving 10 per cent cassava inclusion in a short term; 20 per cent in the medium term and ultimately 40 per cent. The ongoing cassava bread campaign aims at achieving 20 per cent cassava flour inclusion in bread, which is also considered healthier for consumption.
FIIRO claims, if fully developed, the policy has the capacity to generate over three million jobs to reduce the rate of unemployment in Nigeria. FIIRO explained that in terms of price, quality and quantity, bread has remained the only staple food affordable to all Nigerians.
The director-general of the agency, Mrs. Grace Elemo, said that before the evolution of the cassava inclusion initiative, bread was 100 per cent produced from wheat flour and as such, huge amount of hard-earned foreign exchange is used every year for its importation.
The DG said, importation of wheat flour costs the nation a whopping sum of N635bn annually. She pointed out that with the cassava bread initiative, especially the production of composite bread in commercial quantities, local farmers would have opportunities to experience high returns.
In a bid to redress the country’s undue dependence on 100 per cent wheat flour for bread-making and other confectioneries, the federal government came up with the policy of gradually increasing the substitution of high grade cassava flour from 10 per cent to 40 per cent
Prior to the introduction of this policy, FIIRO has not only perfected the technology of 10 per cent high quality cassava flour (HQCF) inclusion in wheat flour but also transferred the technology to numerous flour millers and bakers in the country. FIIRO has also gone further to introduce baking laboratory where it produces composite (cassava/wheat) bread which it sells to staff on a daily basis, as a demonstration of the technical feasibility and economic viability of the technology.
The composite bread produced is adjudged by all those who eat them to be of very high quality and in tandem with the institute’s sensory evaluation reports on cassava bread consumption In addition to baking bread with the 10 and 20 per cent composite cassava, FIIRO has also successfully baked various acceptable confectioneries with over 20 per cent cassava flour inclusion in wheat flour.
To further drive the initiative, government rolled out some incentives and intervention schemes in cultivation of high quality cassava, cassava flour processing and training of bakers across the country on the best techniques of mixing or blending the wheat flour with the cassava flour.
As parts of efforts aimed at making the policy a success, the Bank of Industry announced a N2.2bn Cassava Bread Fund Initiative for 174 members of the Association of Master Bakers of Nigeria. The money is being disbursed to the beneficiaries in forms of loans and grants in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, BOI, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, had said the bakers would to use the money for the acquisition of bakery equipment to enable them achieve the inclusion of 20 per cent cassava flour into wheat flour. According to him, “The members were grouped in two batches. The sum of N989m has been disbursed to the first batch of 100 beneficiaries, which represents 92 per cent of the approved sum of N1.074 billion.
He had explained that of the remaining 74 beneficiaries, only 60 have met basic conditions precedent to facilitate the disbursement of 50 per cent grant amounting to N537.93 million.
National President of Master Bakers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Simeon Abanulor, confirmed that members of the association nationwide got a total of N886m out of the N2.2bn cassava bread intervention fund.
Abanulor disclosed that members from all the geo-political zones of the country have benefitted from the amount disbursed so far. He said the BoI had promised the disbursement of the remaining fund.
On the research and development side, Head, Baking and Milling Division of Federal Institute of Industrial Research, FIIRO, Mrs. Osibanjo Adetokumbo, said the institute has made concerted efforts to mobilise bakers and millers to embrace the initiative, following its successful research on its feasibility and production of composite bread in-house.
She said, the millers were reluctant initially but gradually begun to mobilise themselves after seeing the benefits, and from a mere five per cent, they have moved to 20 per cent cassava flour inclusion in their products.
According to her, the cassava flour is available, the technology is available.
“It is practical, the bakers are not putting up any opposition and we have gone across the country training bakers and it is very positive. We have achieved 20 per cent in FIIRO and our bread was personally launched by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, here in FIIRO. It contains 20 per cent of cassava and we bake it on a daily basis.’’
She named Honeywell among major millers in the country who have achieved a mixture of both wheat and cassava flour in their production. According to her, “In every new policy, change is usually slow and sometimes resisted until when people begin to feel the impact”.
She said that the challenge would be surmounted as such is usually the case with a new initiative pointing out that as demand grows for cassava flour, farmers would be persuaded to grow more.
The FIIRO DG however believes that legislation may need to be emplaced to help the policy succeed on large scale and appealed to the National Assembly to pass a law on compulsory use of cassava in bread-making, which she said the institute had already proposed.
According to her, the absence of a legal framework to drive the cassava bread policy constitutes a big challenge to the implementation of the policy due to poor public enlightenment.
A bill to legislate on the cassava bread has however reportedly suffered a set-back in the House of Representatives, when FIIRO first took the initiative.
The Senate Committee on Science and Technology on its part said nothing much is known about the initiative.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Robert Borofice, who led his committee to the agency, requested that FIIRO forward to it, a comprehensive report, outlining research on the cassava flour as well as the economic and health benefits to enable it take a position that would facilitate its adoption.
However, the National Association of Nigerian Traders, NANTS, which conducted a survey of the experience and challenges faced by the Federal Government’s cassava bread programme said while there was a high level of interest, the programme was still beset by several problems.
The NANTS report “showed a 94 per cent interest among Nigerians interviewed”, but found that the “cassava bread production level to date remains is domiciled largely among corporate bakers”.
While government officials acknowledged that there are “teething challenges” faced by the programme, they maintained that the government is “creating market opportunities so that those who can produce will come on board”.
The report identifies six main challenges faced in the implementation of the cassava bread programme. One of them is the shortage of cassava for industrial use as 80 per cent of cassava produced in the country is already used for direct consumption, so only 20 per cent is available for industrial use.
Another problem is technical difficulties in ensuring the required quality of cassava flour, in part due to lack of adequate training; unclear labeling requirements, so consumers are not generally aware of the use of cassava in bread production as a replacement for wheat flour; unfounded concerns over health threats arising from fears over possible fungal threats arising from the use of cassava flour; the need to build technical capacity along the supply chain to provide quality cassava flour for use in cassava/wheat flour blends in bread production and access to funding for the initiative.
It is little wonder then that that the general public do not pear to know if cassava bread is in the market or not though the big milers claimed to have started blending cassava with what flour.
Consumers, who spoke with Sunday Mirror, however said the bread is not available, Dele Okikiola, a trader in Obalende said, I have never seen or tasted the cassava bread. I don’t even know what it looks like.”
Bakers who spoke with Sunday Mirror on the initiative however said that cassava bread in plentiful in the market though consumers may not be aware.
Managing Director, Gooday Loaves, a bakery based in Lagos, Mrs. Roseline Aburime, said her company has achieved 10 per cent cassava flour inclusion in its products. “There is plenty of cassava bread in the market. Anyone who wants cassava flour will be able to get it. It’s in the market. Bakers and consumers who are claiming ignorance are deceiving themselves. It’s possible that they do not want to change from the norm. Consumers may eat the cassava bread and may not know because it does not look different from the wheat bread which majority is used to.”
According to bread distributor, Alhaja Hasdan Ayodele from Lagos Island said, “Most of the bread we sell here has cassava flour included. In fact, I will say all of them have cassava flour included. It is the percentage that varies from company to company. Some use a lot of cassava flour, some used small but all of them use cassava flour.
For her, the policy is working, although some consumers prefer the wheat bread. Nonetheless, I believe it’s a success because all the bakers are using cassava flour as far as I can see.’’
A Lagos-based beautician, Mrs. Shola Abimbola, said, “Cassava bread is available in the market. The wheat bread is also available. It depends on what you want. Cassava flour is available for bakers. They are selling it in the market. I prefer wheat bread to cassava bread though. Maybe, it’s because I am not used to it yet, I just don’t like the taste of the cassava bread. It’s not the same.” she said.
Nonetheless government remains optimistic the cassava sector is s sure growth driver as estimates suggest that about N16bn worth of cassava flour would be needed this year alone to produce the estimated 550 million (950g) loaves of bread valued at about N117bn currently produced annually in the country.
Apart from bread, there are several other industrial applications backed by new investments already being seen.
According to Adesina, “As we speak, there are at least 10 new large scale factories, two for starch, two for sweeteners, three for ethanol and three for dried chips that are being planned for commissioning in 2015. Such dynamism of private sector investment in cassava processing has never happened before in Nigeria’s history. Mechanised and highly productive cassava production is a magnet for industrial scale processing, which we are now seeing in Nigeria. The industry is responding to the positive development in the cassava sector”.
Group Managing Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Paul Gbededo, stated recently that a draft policy, which is designed to actively promote the inclusion of locally cultivated cassava and sorghum in bread flour is one which his company welcomes and supports because of the positive impact it will have on the economy of Nigeria by way of huge savings in foreign exchange, wealth creation for farmers, direct farm jobs for nearly 500,000 persons and an income generation of about N24bn going to farmers.
He said the policy is expected to create additional 1,500 jobs and is also expected to create a value of over N800bn in 10 years.
Some public commentators insist that the issue of cassava bread needs to be addressed more seriously as a matter of strategic national interest.
According to Barrister Olabode Shittu, “Nigeria is a nation with the capacity to feed the whole of Africa, to become import dependent, due to our high taste for foreign foods. As we import food, we are making our economy weaker. We are exporting jobs, instead of creating jobs at home.
“We are making the farmers of food exporting countries richer, while our own farmers are poorer for lack of markets. While food exporting countries create jobs, Nigerian young graduates roam the streets. As the economy of Europe and the US continues to struggle, demand for our oil is dwindling. Times are different now. While we could afford to lavish our foreign exchange on food imports before, today we cannot, because we must create jobs at home”, he said.
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