FIIRO, breadmakers advocate alternate options to wheat

The Federal Institute of Industrial Analysis, Oshodi, and the Premium Breadmakers Affiliation of Nigeria have said the necessity to combine inexpensive, domestically sourced alternate options into the bread worth chain, particularly with cassava as a front-runner.

This was the main target of the 2024 PBAN Members’ Day-Out in Lagos just lately.

FIIRO’s Director-Normal, Dr Jummai Tutuwa, represented by Deputy Director, Dr Adetokunbo Osibanjo, mentioned the institute has developed composite flour improvements combining cassava, candy potatoes, and different native grains like sorghum and millet with wheat to cut back manufacturing prices and reliance on imported substances.

“Nigeria is the biggest cassava producer globally, giving us a transparent benefit,” mentioned Osibanjo. “We’ve proven that cassava flour is viable, however implementation requires the willingness of bakers and help from stakeholders.”

Osibanjo traced FIIRO’s cassava bread innovation to the Nineteen Nineties however lamented the sluggish uptake.

“FIIRO isn’t an imposing company. Ours is to do these investigations and make the outcomes accessible, to let folks know that is potential, that is doable.

“You can’t drive human beings, they should make their very own decisions and their preferences.

“If Nigerians had embraced cassava bread earlier, we’d have overcome lots of at the moment’s challenges,” she added.

PBAN President Emmanuel Onuorah highlighted the urgency of decreasing bread manufacturing prices within the face of financial pressure.

“We’re exploring native substances like cassava and orange-fleshed candy potatoes,” he mentioned. “Nonetheless, the problem is availability in industrial portions and appropriate types. As an example, we want these substances in dry types, not moist, to keep away from further storage prices.”

Onuorah referred to as on FIIRO to make sure various supplies are available and cost-effective.

“Our members are able to innovate, however the authorities and analysis our bodies should present the mandatory infrastructure and insurance policies,” he asserted.

In the meantime, the Public and Industrial Agent Officer of PBAN, Babalola Thomas, careworn the significance of collaboration and long-term coverage implementation, lamenting how 42 years since Nigeria’s first cassava bread, the nation remains to be speaking about feasibility.

“It’s time for deliberate and constant motion to harness our aggressive benefit,” he said.

Thomas who’s the Managing Director and the Chief Government Officer of T-Bakes Bakery, added, “It would curiosity you to know, and lots of us are studying it for the primary time right here, that the primary cassava bread that was produced in Nigeria, 1982, 42 years thus far, what does it inform us? It tells us that one thing is fallacious with us as a nation, professionals, companies, and authorities.

“Forty-two years is sufficient within the lifetime of a nation to have mastered the artwork of milling each cassava and wheat flour. And also you see, by now, discussions ought to have been far above and much greater than what we’re discussing.”

Breadmakers additionally urged FIIRO to strengthen its collaboration with the personal sector.

Chairman of the PBAN Members’ Day-Out planning committee, Adebowale Adebiyi, urged: “FIIRO should synergise with milling industries to deliver down uncooked materials prices and make analysis findings accessible to traders and stakeholders.”

A spotlight of the stakeholders’ assembly was a panel dialogue on the theme, ‘Improvements in a Dynamic Bread Making Trade: Utilizing Native and Reasonably priced Various Substances explored methods to chop prices and enhance productiveness.’

Panellists urged bakers to undertake scientific approaches, optimise manufacturing by automation, and give attention to sustainable practices.

The panellists included the Vice President of Business, Crown Flour Mill Ltd, Bolaji Anifowoshe; the Managing Director of Afost Built-in Firm (Sole consultant of ATS Bakery Tools Turkey), Pearse Dorcas; and the Managing Director of Edcel Restricted, Cletus Chibuko.

The Managing Director of Elevensixteen Restricted (Breadworth Bakery), Adijat Olaniyi-Olopade moderated the panel discussions.

Panelists on the occasion suggested stakeholders to tempo themselves as wheat isn’t grown in Nigeria and we shouldn’t have lots of alternate options.

They urged breadmakers to method breadmaking as a science with the process and never as an all-comers affair

They suggested bakers to use fundamental bakery upkeep necessities, together with testing PH ranges of water, measurements of water utilized in flours, and utilizing extraction followers to chill freshly baked bread as a substitute of opening home windows for draught.