THE GUARDIAN, Sunday, December 4,2011
[45
BUSINESSINTERMIEW
Cassava Bread May Suffer From Shortage Of Tubers' Following steps by government to change the kind of bread Nigerians should have on the breakfast table by the inclusion of between 40 and 50 per cent of cassava flour in the wheat flour base, FABIAN ODUM spoke to Or Emmanuel Ukpabi, Group Managing Director, Flour Mills of Nigeria (Pic), and leading miller in the country. He talked about its prospects Obasanjo did not last the distance. He, however, believes the consumer is still king. Whatdoyoumakeofthelactthatthe carry on research to get cassava varimillingandconfecticmeryuidusnyis etiesofhigh-yieldingnacureandthis yet to fix the issue of the 10 per cent js to show our support to get the 10 Qssavaflour inclusion for bread mak- percent inclusion going, ingthatstartedinthePresidentOluse- what has happened to the Nsoom gun Obasanjo era, yet the 3oaf of 40/50 seed money? per cent is being introduced by the We have given out loans so far to the PresidentGoodluckJonathanadmin- tune of N300million to growers, istration through the Agriculture processors arid fabricators.And to die minister? institute, specifically to National Root THE Honourable minister had his Crops Research Institute, Umuahia, 1 bread baked in IITA by scientists Abia State, but the banks are cornunder laboratory conditions; it ispos- plaining that the people are not paysible to have 50/50 wheat-cassava ing back. Perhaps, they regard it as flour bread. We are millers and, put- 'government money1 to be taken and ting everything into consideration, not returned, we would able to do that buying the incidentally, they also com plain that necessary equipment. If the bakers we do not take cassava flour; but we President. Lagos Business School Alumni Associaiion (LBSAA). Mr Ulieme Ufoi (left): Managing Director. AMCON. Mr.f/ustafa Cliihe-Qbi; Dean, LBS. D could bake that as well, and the con- a re feed ing (the cassava flour) contin- Enase Dkonedo: Senior Leemrer. tBS. Qt Dam Salami- and Mr Dpcyemi Agbaie, al the 2011 LBS Alumni Day in Lagos .recently suming public like the product, it is uously from the stock we have taken fine; for the bread vendors, the test in our warehouse, would be to see whether, or not, what At what rate are you feeding the casis left unsold is well preserved, in sava flour now? terms of shelf life for an additional We are feeding now at the rate to dayortwo. This would be noteworthy achieve five per cent So, if a minister The last time we met the Minister be- thinks it is 50 per cent, the point is fore the federal executive council diattheconsumerwouldbesatisfied. meeting, he was hammering on 10 The greatest calamity would beifpeoper cent inclusion and urged all plerejectthebreadandthenwitiiour millers to add this percentage from porous borders, people will start thattime(lastquarterof20ll)tillthe bringing in wheat bread (100 per next oneyear.Weare working on that, cent). but one of the issues raised is that we If Nigerians accept the 50 per cent donot have high quality cassava flour, cassava flour bread, it would mean a It was at that meeting that we were ]ot for the farmers as more income told of a processor whose warehouse would be made. Butthere are more to was overflowing with cassava flour as cassava than just bread and baiting; much-as six trailer load and we were starch adhesives, sucrose, cassava asked to help clear it up. He came and chibsthatwearetryingto make here, wasgivenalocalpurchaseorder(LPO) 3nd many more things can be derived Vice President & Genersl Counsel olrhe Inlemalionat Finance Corporation (IFC), Ms. Rachel Rot-bins (left); and Chairr.ar, Funtai International to supply but, for onemonih, he could from cassava, not delivera trailer load. What were the issues that culmfr Schools.Tajudeen Dluseeun Ibrahim, at a ceremony to ir.aik IFC's investment of S5 million in Funtsi during the week The point is that we are not able to nated in the failure to continue with get high quality cassava flour that lOpercentinciusion? • would enable millers feed even five Part of the reason is that there was per cent. As we are ordering cassava lack of effective monitoringand diere from processors, so are other millers Was not enough quality cassava flour tobeabletogettoreachaflvepercent inthecountty.ButFlourMillsofNigelevel but it is not coming. r j a Pic and its associated companies We cannot blend a low quality cas- did not stop using cassava flour and sava flour into our product as that at that time we had an agreement and would send bad signals and destroy encouragement from the govemthe market If the consumers are not rnentto hit,first,fivepercent able to eat the bread, the baker, surely The flour was not there and if any . would be out of business and the was found, itwas of low quality; we millers who supply the flour would were not going to add lowqualitycasalso be out of business. sava flour in our wheat flour. Some Thecassavagrowersandprocessors. had fibrous material and if you are who depend on us, would be terribly earing bread, and suddenly, you find affected. It is something that should that, it would be quite unpleasant be gradual and then we are stepping of the import of going 50 per cent up. cassava flour inclusion as announced The millers are very much in support bytheMinisteronnationaJtelevision of government's effort, and that was \k the Minister means what he why when former President Obasanjo wassaying.If we import fourmillion started this project, insisting on the tons of wheatflour.it meansitwould cassava inclusion, we made available require two million tons of cassava . Anire Ksnyi- Secretary 2011 NBA Dinnet Nsoom, initially kept in the Bank of flour as replacement for wheat And Chairman, Entertainment Committee, NBA. Lagos Chapter, Mayo Onigbanjo (left); Chairman Fim ri; Alternate Chairman, Hannibal U io;and Chairman. 2011 NBA Dinner, Dagogo Karibi-Whyle at a rece.il session in Lagos fndustry(Bol)and later transferred to from a cassava tuber, may be you get the Agnc Bank, to give loans to grow- onlya thirdas flourat theendofits ers, fabricators of processing plants processing, so it would in turn need and the real processors themselves. sixmillion tons of cassava tubertoarMoneywasalsomadeavailabletore- rive at the flourto apply at the mills, search institutes to ensure that they
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Chika Ubendii (left) presents Hie West African Tourism and Hospitality Awards (WATHA) Plalinurn award to Co mnwn Italian & Snalegy Manager of Taslee Fried Chicken, Latire Bayewu, during tfia award ceremony in Giiana- rocemly.