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Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr Akinwunmi Adesina Wednesday branded flour millers in the country as unpatriotic, accusing them of deliberating undermining government’s policy on the substitution of the cassava for wheat in bread making.
He said recently, one of the millers’ Chief Executive Officers travelled to the United States of America giving assurances to their wheat growers that he would keep patronizing them in spite of government’s directive that importation on wheat should be scaled down.
He said the practice was killing the local economy.
Adesina was speaking at the presentation of a set of incentives to enhance cassava production to meet the need of the 40/60 percent cassava/wheat in breads produced in Nigeria.
He said: “Nigeria is the highest cassava producer in the world with 40 million metric tons per year but we are also the highest importer of wheat. We spend N63 billion yearly importing wheat from the US; whereas the cassava we produce can be used to replace wheat in bread making.”
Although, few bakers have started implementing a 20 percent cassava bread initiative, the flour millers are yet to key into the government policy, Dr Adesina lamented.
He challenged the millers to “rise and be patriotic by supporting government policies,” while also dismissing fears of the hygienic quality of bread made with cassava.
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