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Cassava, maize composite flour
launched
Accra, June 25, Ghanadot/GNA- Flour produced with cassava
and maize was on Wednesday introduced into the Ghanaian
market to provide a cheaper alternative for bakers in view
of the rising cost of wheat flour.
Manufactured by Women in Agriculture Development (WIAD) of
the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the composite flour
could be used for all bakeries and have similar taste as
compared to the wheat flour.
A bag of wheat flour, which was selling at GH 39 cedis in
January now costs over GH 66 cedis, resulting from the
global food crisis.
Mr. Clement Eledi, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture
in-charge of Crops, who launched the product in Accra, said
the initiative was commendable to harness the best from
local staples.
He said this was necessary to empower farmers to stay in
production and help boost the national economy, adding, “we
have to save the economy from collapsing by patronizing our
local foods.”
According to the Deputy Minister, the price of wheat flour
currently stood at GH 1,600 per metric tone, while high
quality cassava flour was also selling at GH 900 cedis.
He stated that bread had become an important commodity with
consumption of about 2 kilograms per household and
accounting for not less than 15 percent of monthly household
budget, hence the new product could contribute positively to
the economy.
Mr Eledi indicated that the Ministry was negotiating with
flour mills to produce more of the cassava flour for supply
and would also work at gradually subsidizing import on wheat
flour to make that of cassava more acceptable.
He said if countries such as Mozambique and Nigeria have
been successfully in the usage of the flour, developing
taste for it could make it work for Ghana too.
Ms Paulina Addy, Deputy Acting Director of WIAD said the
development of the flour was supported by the Food Research
Institute, the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University
of Science and Technology, among other research
institutions.
She said although dietary habits were difficult to change,
previous efforts to introduce the new flour was accepted by
some consumers and expressed the hope that the product would
be widely patronized.
Ms Addy pledged that WIAD would do all it could to sustain
the production of the cassava composite flour.
She asked the country to strategically develop and refine
local food and should not wait until hard times, as was the
case in 1983.
GNA
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