By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
A bill seeking to mandate the inclusion of cassava flour in edible wheat flour production passed its second reading in the Senate yesterday.
The bill specifically seeks to mandate that all edible flour producers in Nigeria or imported into the country include 20 percent high-quality cassava flour in wheat.
It was sponsored by Saliu Mustapha, the senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform.
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture for further legislative actions.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, directed the committee to report to the Senate within four weeks.
While leading a debate on the bill, Mustapha stressed the need to use cassava in the recipe for producing wheat flour.
He said it would reduce the cost of importing wheat, which currently stands at over $3b per annum.
He complained that the continuous importation of wheat has negatively impacted the Nigerian economy by creating a trade imbalance, causing a loss of foreign exchange and fuelling food dependency.
The senator argued that when the bill is passed into law, it would stimulate job creation in the agriculture sector and increase Nigeria’s market share of cassava earnings in foreign exchange.
He also noted that the law would enhance the efficiency of cassava production and processing operations, which would benefit poverty alleviation, economic growth, and food security.
The majority of the senators supported the bill.
The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, said the bill is in the country’s interest.
Jibrin noted that including cassava in wheat flour production was good for making bread, but Nigerian bakers refused to adhere to this practice.
He said, “This bill is all about our national interest. It is important to utilize what we produce everywhere in this country. In the north, in the south, and everywhere. Every state produces cassava. It is one of the crops that you can find everywhere.
“Experts have concluded that adding a certain amount of cassava to wheat is good for us in bread baking. Yes, we need legislation because this thing has been said over and over again.
“However, the bakers have refused to go in line with the study that experts have made about the bread we need to produce in this country. Now, legislation should be enacted to enforce them to use this formula. Simple, am I right? Very, very simple.”
The Deputy Senate President also argued that the implementation would increase the country’s cassava production and farmers’ incomes.
Ahmed Lawan, a former Senate president, recalled how former President Goodluck Jonathan supported local production of bread made with cassava.
Lawan, the Yobe North Senator, urged the incumbent government to diversify the economy.
