Africa Embracing Cassava Wheat Composite Flour

Working to meet ever-increasing demand without more imports.

Africa’s wheat production is estimated at 40% of the region’s domestic requirements, forcing many consuming countries in the continent to rely heavily on imports to meet ever-increasing demand.

But some African countries have begun to realize how the dependence on imports exposes them to the difficulties of global wheat market trends and supply shocks. Many governments are exploring opportunities in the integration of cassava flour as a partial substitute in wheat bread and other baked products.

Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Tanzania, and Mozambique are some of the leading cassava-producing countries in Africa and top wheat-importing markets. Some of these countries have initiated projects to expand consumption of wheat flour that is blended with high-quality cassava flour not only as a way to reduce reliance on wheat imports but also to support commercialization of cassava production in the region.

At least 75% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s cassava production comes from Nigeria, the DRC, Ghana, Tanzania, and Mozambique, where millions of farmers are utilizing marginal farmland for the crop to achieve food security and generate income, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).


Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan, all East African Community (EAC) Partner States, have adopted the Draft East Africa Standard (EAS) 741:2021, which includes specifications for processing, flour contents, packaging, and marketing.


FAO projected that by the end of 2020, Africa would account for 60% of the global cassava production, despite the anticipated slowdown in economic growth and fast population growth.

It is this huge cassava resource that some of these countries are tapping into to address the region’s deficit of raw materials for the production of bread, biscuits, snacks, and pasta, as well as other baking products.

Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan, all East African Community (EAC) Partner States, have adopted the Draft East Africa Standard (EAS) 741:2021, which includes specifications for processing, flour contents, packaging, and marketing.

There has been an attempt in East Africa to produce cassava wheat composite flour that can be marketed and sold across borders through adoption of a common standard for the products derived from the blended wheat flour.

Draft East Africa Standard (EAS) 741:2021

Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan, all East African Community (EAC) Partner States, have adopted the Draft East Africa Standard (EAS) 741:2021, which includes specifications for processing, flour contents, packaging, and marketing.

For example, the standard requires cassava wheat composite flour to be “homogenous in size and color, free of filth and foreign matter, and free from rancid or any off odors or flavors.”

A statement from the Uganda Bureau of Standards reads, “The cassava wheat composite flour shall be processed from cassava grits, chips, or flour that conforms to EAS 738, EAS778, and EAS739, respectively, and wheat grain and wheat flour that conforms to EAS51 and EAS1, respectively.”

According to the EAS 741:2021 specification, the compositional requirements for cassava wheat composite flour specifies guidelines on:

• Crude fat content.

• Crude fiber content.

• Acid value.

• Acid-insoluble ash.

• Moisture content.

• Hydrogen cyanide.

• Particle size.

• Food additives.

• Pesticide residue levels.

• Packaging with specific labeling details.

Continental-Level Requirements

At the continental level, similar specifications have been developed by the African Organization for Standardization (ARS), an African intergovernmental organization made up of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union.

ARS requires the percentage of any single non-wheat type of flour in composite flour to range between 10% to 30%.

But where more than one non-wheat flour is used, ARS requires “the sum of the individual components used are not to exceed the maximum level permitted for any one of the components.”


According to the EAS 741:2021 specification, the compositional requirements for cassava wheat composite flour specifies guidelines on crude fat content, crude fiber content, acid value, acid-insoluble ash, moisture content, and hydrogen cyanide.


Other ARS composite flour parameters cover raw materials, quality requirements, particle size, enrichment, contaminants, hydrocyanic acid content, anti-nutritional factors, food additives, hygiene, packaging, labeling, and sampling.

Nigerian Policy

In Nigeria, the world’s largest producer of cassava, with a 20% global market share, development of a policy on composite flour has been a priority.

Its federal government is pushing for increased substitution of cassava flour for wheat flour for use in bread and other flour-based products.

The policy, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, provides a 12% tax rebate for bakers venturing into blending cassava flour with wheat flour for bread.

However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says enforcing the composite flour policy “is unlikely until flour millers, bakers, and other stakeholders overcome technical challenges in developing an appropriate mix of wheat and cassava flours.

“Market analysts also do not foresee the government of Nigeria imposing an import ban or restrictions on wheat,” states the USDA, “considering the major challenges confronting wheat production in Nigeria.”

Across the African market, acceptance levels of wheat cassava composite flour has yet to be determined precisely, as is the opinion of local bakeries on the characteristics of wheat cassava flour products.

Moreover, a successful implementation of the composite flour policy in Nigeria would enable it to reduce its wheat imports by at least 60% in the short term.

“When I was minister in Nigeria,” says Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, former president of African Development Bank (AfDB), “we moved aggressively on import substitution with use of cassava c flour for use as composite flours in bread making and confectionary industries.

“Several countries have taken the home-grown policy in Nigeria,” adds Adesina, “to help reduce their wheat imports, including Liberia, Togo, and the DRC.”

Tanzanian Efforts

In the case of Tanzania, the Ministry of Agriculture says the government is implementing, albeit in bits, the 2020-2030 National Cassava Development Strategy to strengthen the cassava market.

Its priorities are expansion of “domestic industrial use of cassava and cassava products by establishing high-value processing plants (starch plants), promotion of wheat substitution with high-quality cassava flour, reduction of starch importation, and diverse use of cassava products in animal feed, confectionaries, and textile industries.”

The blending of high-quality cassava flour with cereal flour remains one of the untapped market opportunities that could enable Tanzania’s cassava subsector to grow.

FAO previously said, “Cassava flour has potential in many developing countries, particularly in Africa (and to a lesser extent in Asia), where there is a large consumption of bread made from 100% imported wheat. The degree of replacement can lead to different grades of breads and pastry products and prices for the consumer.”

But since 1964, FAO has had a composite flour program and is now calling for adequate research to “evaluate different proportions of cassava/wheat flour, working in partnership with the bakery industry.”

Meanwhile, the Tanzanian government has identified several obstacles to expansion of the existing composite flour market opportunities, such as the poor quality of products, limited utilization of cassava and its by-products, inadequate market information systems, and poor market infrastructure. The situation applies in nearly all cassava-producing and wheat-importing markets in Africa.


“Market analysts also do not foresee the government of Nigeria imposing an import ban or restrictions on wheat,” states the USDA, “considering the major challenges confronting wheat production in Nigeria.”


Although the campaign to increase consumption of composite flours has been sustained in several countries, the Pan African Quality Infrastructure says there is need for “public education, the spread of knowledge, and application of standards” if the continent’s population is to embrace consumption of cassava wheat composite flour.

Shem Oirere, contributing writer

shem@shemoirere.com

Africa Embracing Cassava Wheat Composite Flour

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