Former Nigeria’s President ,Olusegun Obasanjo, took the 40 percent
cassava flour inclusion in bread to Tanzania recently as he urged the
Tanzania President to promote the use of cassava in confectioneries in
his country to transform agriculture.
He noted that the use of cassava flour in bread would stimulate the
demand for the root crop, create jobs and, more importantly, make
farmers proud.
Obasanjo who is the Goodwill Ambassador for the International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) was in Tanzania for the
inauguration of the IITA Science Building in Dar es Salaam.
Former Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo and the President of the
United Republic of Tanzania, His Excellency, Dr Mrisho Jakaya Kikwete,
eat bread baked with 40 percent cassava flour to show their endorsement.
Former President Benjamin Mkapa of the United Republic of Tanzania
also ate the bread for the first time. The leaders supported the
innovation, noting that it would bring several benefits to the
continent.
President Kikwete after eating the cassava bread commended IITA for
the technology, saying that the bread had an “excellent” taste.
“There is no difference between this bread and the normal bread we are used to,” he added.
The 40 percent cassava bread was first developed by IITA in Nigeria,
as part of efforts to boost the utilization of cassava and create market
for farmers.
The Director General for IITA, Dr Nteranya Sanginga said today that
the bread innovation is part of the cassava value chain, stressing that
it complements breeding efforts.
In Nigeria, IITA Ambassador Obasanjo, in 2002 initiated a policy on
10 percent inclusion in bread under a program tagged “the Presidential
Initiative on Cassava.” The program which was implemented by IITA and
national partners, drove the demand for cassava, increased productivity
by about 10million tons in 6 years, and made Nigeria the top world
producer of cassava.
The IITA Ambassador urged African governments seeking genuine
agricultural transformation to adopt the use of cassava in
confectioneries, and institute policies that would make the continent
food secure and cut import bills on food.
To facilitate the adoption of the technology across countries in
Africa, IITA deployed a team of expert to train local bakers on the
inclusion of cassava flour in bread in Tanzania.
Dr Victor Manyong, IITA Director for Eastern Africa noted that the
adoption of the technology would improve the livelihoods of farmers,
bakers and have a positive impact on the economy of Tanzania.
Consumed by more than 600 million people in the developing world,
cassava has transformed from a food security crop to a cash crop with
industrial uses in sectors such as brewery, pharmaceutical and
confectionery industries. The crop is one of Africa’s major staples,
with the continent cultivating about 50 percent of global production.
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