xWorried by the development, stakeholders in the industry said if the production of High-Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) that was supposed to be achieved through the Federal Government’s Cassava Bread Fund initiative scaled through, it would have reduced bakers’ reliance on flour and wheat for bread production. According to them, the initiative like other previous government interventions failed due to lack of will-power and policy summersault. The Director of the Federal Department of Agriculture, Mrs Karima Babangida said the move would create jobs, wealth and save Nigeria forex it spends importing wheat. xShe confirmed that the promotion and adoption of 10 per cent Cassava flour in bread and confectionery has been going on with mixed feelings. Babangida said the Ministry has achieved partial success in cassava flour inclusion by training some bakers, setting up large scale farms, and encouraging more cassava mills, but the 10per cent Cassava inclusion policy implementation failed to achieve the objectives of massive Baker’s demand for cassava flour.

Source: The Guardian July 04, 2021 03:15 UTC