Agona-Nkwanta (W/R), July 21, GNA — Dr Nanam Dziedzoave, a Research Scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of the Food Research Institute (CSIR-FRI), has called for the need for Ghanaian bakers to patronize locally produced flour.
He said last year the CSIR-FRI developed cassava, sweet potato, cowpea and corn flours as suitable substitutes for wheat flour in bakery and pastry products.
Dr Dziedzoave, who is the head of the use of alternative flours baking project, said the development of the flour would facilitate the absorption of the national surplus of roots and tubers crops and generate more income for local farmers.
Addressing bakers in the Ahanta West District of the Western Region at a day’s workshop on the use of alternative flours for baking, Dr Dziedzoave said the project was designed to develop the capacity of bakers and matrons in the country.
The workshop is being conducted in Mfantseman, Dangme East and the Ahanta West districts in the Central, Greater Accra and Western regions respectively for selected bakers and matrons.
Dr Dziedzoave said in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing poverty by half in 2015, the World Bank designed the Africa Action Plan (AAP) as a centre piece of its strategy to help Africa and its regional groupings such as ECOWAS achieve the MDGs.
Dr Dziedzoave said ECOWAS in response to the AAP formulated the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), as the implementing instrument for achieving the objectives of increased agricultural productivity and sustainability.
“Considering that agricultural productivity and sustainability is directly dependent on the existence of viable markets, the training in the use of alternative flours for baking is timely,” he said.
He said with Ghana importing almost 300 million tons of wheat flour annually, while the country produces over 10 million metric tons of cassava in the same period, of which 30 percent has been consistently recorded as national surplus, it will be appropriate to create awareness for Ghanaians to patronize this locally produced flour to reduce the country’s import bills.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is collaborating with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to manage the WAAPP programme in order to ensure food security and generate income for farmers in the country.
