FG mulls bill on 15% cassava flour inclusion in bread

Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development, says plan is underway to send an executive bill to encourage 15 percent cassava flour inclusion in bread industry to encourage key players along the cassava value chain.

Ogbeh said also that the plan would curtail slightly above $5 million daily spending on wheat importation, a key raw material for the bread industry, while encouraging key players in the cassava value chain to provide the raw material for value addition.

The minister, who made the disclosure in Abuja on Thursday, said the government would work with key stakeholders in the cassava industry value chain to reap over $5 billion in cassava market within the next five years through value addition, while emphasising on import substitution.

Nigeria has made mistakes in the last 30 years for ignoring agriculture, he said, adding that every industry in the agricultural sector that has the potential for foreign exchange would be developed.

He said further that the capacity of farmers in accessing finance would be enhanced by strengthening and repositioning the Bank of Agriculture to give credit at 5-6 percent interest rate so that the farmers could engage in profitable business.

Speaking along the same vein, Lateef Sanni, a professor at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, while delivering a speech with the theme: “Achieving a $5 billion Cassava Industry in Nigeria,” said the industry had the potential to create millions of jobs across the cassava value chain.

“By 2021, Nigeria cassava industry will represent over $5 billion, spurs rural industrial development, generate millions of new job and creates wealth for over 45 million people.”

The cassava industrial demand for starch is 269,000 tons but the current supply stands at 20,000 tons, he said; for ethanol, 200 million litres is demanded while only 9 million litres is produced, he Sanni.

Sanni said the capacity of cassava farmers need to be improved and more processing companies have to be established to achieve the target.

According to Sanni, cassava processing has to be in the areas of animal feeds, ethanol, glucose syrups and high quality cassava composite flour for the bakery industry.

Speaking with BusinessDay on the sidelines, Adewumi Segun, president of the cassava farmers association, said “Nigeria, as the world’s largest producer of cassava, cannot export high quality cassava,” adding that the potential was there but processing was the major problem.

“We are the highest producer of cassava in the world, but we are yet to tap the essential value in the product due largely to poor value addition. The country also spends millions of dollars in importation of ethanol, which is an essential component from cassava, which is not good for us.

“We are having this summit to address all these, and with the aid of our international partners, we should be able to grow the technology to advance the $5 billion cassava market, and grow the economy,” he said.