The Country Manager, Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA), Prof. Lateef Sanni and the United Trading Company (UTC), Nigeria have called on Bakers to key into the Federal Government’s call for Cassava Bread.
The call was made during A One-Day Training Workshop For Master Bakers, organised by C:AVA and UTC in the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB).
Welcome Address, Prof. Sanni charged the bakers to be attentive during the course of the training in order to learn more about baking with cassava flour.
He stated that a time will come in the country when the price of wheat will be on the high side due to acute shortage, while 3rd grade wheat will flood the market and bakers will be left with no other alternative but cassava flour for their baking.
Addressing the bakers, the Managing Director, UTC Nigeria, Mrs. Folusho Olaniyan confidently stated that “cassava bread is good, enjoyable and possible”.
She debunked the rumours in some quarters that cassava bread does not last, smells or scatters when handled.
Mrs. Olaniyan stated that the training process is designed to take the bakers through the raw material analysis which includes Bromate test; Wheat flour ascorbic acid test; cassava flour quality/colour test; cassava flour quality smell test and cassava flour purity test.
The training will also include cassava bread production processes such as weighing; mixing; panning; proving; baking; discharging; cooling and packaging.
To cap the training, the bakers will also be training on bakery equipment selection, pricing and purchasing; product registration procedure with NAFDAC and commercial packaging, inventory management, marketing and distribution channels development.
The high point of the training was the presentation of the baked (cassava bread) product to the Vice-Chancellor and other people present at the training workshop.