Having heard and read so much about cassava bread and the High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF), more so with the attention the Jonathan government invested in the industry, in order to save the country the over N127billion spent annually on wheat importation, Mrs. Jonah Williams went in search of the bread.
“Do you have cassava bread or bread baked with wheat flour that cassava flour had been incorporated into?” She asked her bread supplier, Mrs. Magaret Oluwale of 17, John Olugbo Str. Ikeja. Looking at her bewildered and confused, the bread seller countered, “Wheat bread or cassava bread?” “No,” replied Mrs. Williams, “I mean cassava bread.” “I have never seen it nor heard of it,” replied the woman, still very much confused.
Mrs. Williams, not giving up and determined that her search would yield some positive results, went to other bread sellers and bakeries before it dawned on her that she may actually be searching for something that does not exist except at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO).
At this point, she put a call to ConsumerWatch. Personally, I have seen and actually eaten cassava bread, stylishly named cassy bread at FIIRO. I ate the bread and other cassava confectionaries at FIIRO and at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan. They tasted so delicious, and there was no noticeable difference between those products and the ones baked with wheat flour.
A close look at the food labels of some popular bread reveals that none has the 10 percent cassava flour incorporated in the wheat flour used for the bread baking. For instance, listed on the label of VAL-U bread produced by Leventis Foods are: flour, salt, sugar, yeast, vegetable fat, flavour, improver and preservatives. The same thing applies to Happy Chef by Big Treat, UTC bread, Top Crust, Queensmeal, Butterfield bread, etcetera.
Despite the many workshops, seminars, courses on the production and baking of cassava bread and confectionaries organised by FIIRO for members of master bakers in Nigeria and other bakers, what is then hindering the production of the anticipated cassy bread? we asked Prince Jacob Adejorin, Lagos State Chairman, Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria.
However, to our surprise, he refuted claims that the bread was not available in shops. Appealing to him to direct us to where to make the purchase, he said we should request for the bread which has been baked with the Honeywell multipurpose flour. That response, of course, implies that it is only Honeywell Group that produces such flour for now. But one cannot ask a bread seller such a question and expect the correct answer. Which bread seller will bother to know which flour has been used for which bread?
Obviously not comfortable and not willing to continue with the interview, he refused to honour our further appointment.
However, a top baker who wished to be referred simply as James, at Food Concepts, producers of Butterfield bread, tried to throw more light on the issue. “It is not the fault of bakers but the flour millers. We can only bake with the flour available in the market.
“The flour millers are not producing wheat flour incorporated with cassava flour and as such consumers can not have bread and confectionaries baked with such flour,” said the baker who spoke to us.
Though, a director at FIIRO, who asked for anonymity, blamed the foreign partners in the major flour companies for sabotaging the incorporation of cassava flour into wheat flour. “These foreign partners prefer using only whole wheat flour in bread and confectionaries production because of the huge profit they make by importing wheat into Nigeria.”
Explaining, he stated that those foreign partners were resisting the inclusion of cassava flour into their wheat flour, thereby forcing bakers to bake with only what they make available, which is whole wheat flour.
Commending the Chairman of HoneyWell Group, Dr. Oba Otudeko, he said it is only Honeywell that has bothered to incorporate cassava flour into wheat flour. “It is only Honeywell Flour that has a little percentage of cassava flour though federal government has advocated 10 per cent inclusion.”
Calling on the federal government to come out with a policy that makes it mandatory for every flour miller to embrace the inclusion of cassava flour in wheat flour, he stated that “that’s the only way the efforts of the previous governments to promote self sufficiency as well as curb the dependence on wheat importation can be achieved.”
Speaking further, he, however, lamented that the absence of a legal framework to drive the cassava bread policy was a big challenge for the implementation of the policy.
FIIRO had already sent a memorandum on the enactment into law of a bill on the 10 percent cassava flour inclusion in wheat flour for bread making and confectionaries to the House of Representative.
There are many reasons why we should be advocating for this law to come into effect now. According to the Director General of FIIRO, Dr. Gloria Elemu, “economic evaluation has shown that cassava flour inclusion will make bread cheaper.
“With 10 percent substitution of wheat flour with cassava flour, the price of bread will reduce by 7%, whereas at 20% level of inclusion, the cost of bread could be reduced by about 15%,” enthused the DG.
Adoption of cassava bread will also go a long way in tackling unemployment, especially rural unemployment in Nigeria. It has high potential for job creation through processors, farmers, suppliers, marketers, bakers, researchers etcetera.
