The Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria (ICSAN), in collaboration with the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), organized a training/workshop on the demonstration of cassava flour as an inclusion to wheat flour to reduce over dependence on the importation of wheat.
The President of ICSAN, Mr. Segun Ladele, at the training pleaded for synergy between bakers and cassava processors to transform the fortunes of the industry, while calling on other stakeholders and industry players to embrace the inclusion of cassava flour to reduce the increasing price of bread and other confectionary products.
According to the findings of a study, cassava flour could replace between 20% and 30% of the wheat flour typically used to make bread without significantly altering its sensory characteristics or impairing the leavening process that causes the dough to rise.
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Cassava flour is a good substitute for wheat flour in a variety of recipes within a certain percentage because using only cassava flour for baking resulted in a low bread-making potential in both the chemical and physical properties of the bread samples.
Ladele disclosed that Nigeria produces about 60 million tonnes of cassava yearly as the largest producer of cassava in the world, but the potential is still untapped, adding that if just 10 per cent of cassava in the bread initiative is well accepted, it will save the country about $2 billion on the importation of wheat, and lead to a 15 to 20 per cent reduction in the price of bread.
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The Director General of FIIRO, Dr. Jummai Adamu, represented by Director, Extension and Linkage, Dr Dele Oyeku, disclosed that the institute and other stakeholders are hoping that the current efforts in the legislation of wheat cassava composite bread will sail through the National Assembly and be signed into law.
