FG of Nigeria Fine-tunes Cassava Bread Fund to Check Wheat Importation
- Advanced stages have been reached in the preparation of the cassava bread fund, which is expected to reduce the nation’s dependence on the importation of wheat for the making of bread and other confectionaries
- Nigeria currently spends about ₦635 billion annually on wheat importation.
- Adesina had earlier stated that the fund, expected to be about N10 billion, would be funded through the tariff on wheat flour.
- A 16-man committee was inaugurated which had the tasks of building robust fresh roots supply chains for cassava processing plants; supporting large/medium High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) mills, SMEs producing HQCF and masters bakers on 20 per cent HQCF cassava bread production; social marketing of 20 per cent cassava bread and pre-emptive measures against cassava brown streak disease.
- HQCF can be used as an alternative for starch and other imported materials such as wheat flour in a variety of industries in many countries in Africa.
- Market demand and commercial partners have been identified in various industrial sectors (plywood, paper board, bakery, confectionery and industrial and portable alcohol) which rely on expensive imported raw materials. A locally produced cassava-based alternative has the potential to substitute for the imported material (import substitution) and create a market for the farmer’s cassava.
- Uses of HQCF include raw material for the production of glucose syrups, industrial alcohol and bakery products, the production of adhesives, as an extender for plywood glues and as a source of starch in textile sizing.
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4 Comments
Tosin
August 24, 2013Two Questions:Have you tried cassava bread? I’ve tried to lay my hands on cassava bread all year, without success.What are cassava chips? Like garri or something?Thanks. I’m a fan of agric esp its potential to make us/the world super-wealthy.
Kofo Durosinmi-Etti
August 25, 2013Hi Tosin, Thanks for your comments. I haven’t tried cassava bread yet, I don’t eat bread. Not entirely sure where you can get it from but will definitely try and find out. This is the best definition of cassava chips I could find: Cassava chips are unfermented white dried products of cassava with an average diameter of 3mm – 5mm often used as a carbohydrate base in the animal feed industry particularly in Europe, or milled into flour for other uses such as in the production of ethanol, cakes, dough-nut and biscuits.It’s good to hear you believe in the potential of agriculture. Stay connected.
Yemi Thomas
September 4, 2013If my facts are right; i think what led to the last industrial action called by the Master Bakers is the directive by the FG to the bakers to include a certain percentage of the HQCF in their produce(breads, confectioneries et al). The Bakers conferred with the FG that inclusion of HQCF in their produce has the tendency to break down their milling machinery since HQCF is foreign to it. Improper channels of communication and dialogue between both parties eventually led to the industrial dispute.My point is, i’m not against the introduction of HQCF into the confectionery sub-sector but does it now imply that the FG wants the Bakers to do away with their “old” machinery and invest in HQCF-compliant ones. You will agree with me that the effect of that policy alone would require a BPR(Business Process Reengineering) for the Baker, think of the investment that has gone down into Fixed Assets, think of the extra Labour costs to be incurred in terms of training and capacity building, imagine the loss of manpower hours and idle time that might result, how about the “necessary” Fixed Cost that just must be incurred……Alright, the big players in the confectionery business can afford the aforestated; how about that Small/Medium producer of our lovely “Agege Bread”?I think the FG should be subtle in its implementation of the Cassava Bread policy and expand the window of the Fund to give low-interest loans to SMEs to enable them invest in the critical infrastructure suitable for the take-off of the Policy.Thanks.
Kofo Durosinmi-Etti
September 10, 2013Thanks for this Yemi. Based on the literature I read, the government has promised to assist in the transition to use HQCF. However the major challenge now is accessing this funds which have now being long over due. The release of the fund, which stakeholders believe would have run into billions of naira, has been bogged down by bureaucratic red tape. They also claim that it appears there is a lack of proper coordination between the Ministers of Finance, Agriculture, Trade and Investment and Science Technology and the Director General of the Budget Office, who were to initially to manage the fund. The fund, which the ministry is trying to get for the cassava bread project money is, generated from 65 per cent Customs duty on the importation of wheat into the country. The cassava fund is to get 15 per cent from that duty.But yes absolutely the government has to provide low interest loans to SMEs and the cassava bread policy should be implemented with both the FG and the stakeholders working collaboratively to ensure its success.