No fewer than 60 members of the Master Bakers
and Caterers Association of Nigeria have been trained on cassava bread
production, an official has said.

Dr Uche Nwafor, the South East Regional
Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, told newsmen in Umuahia on
Tuesday that the trainees were drawn from Abia and Kogi states.

“The emphasis here is to encourage farmers to
grow more cassava so that the high quality cassava flour will be available to
Master Bakers,” he said.

Nwafor said the training was successful as
those trained had learnt the art of cassava bread production.

“The bread is already in the market but it
may be difficult for one to identify it.

“One problem with Nigerians is that when you
say cassava bread, they will think that the product is entirely cassava.

“They are blended with wheat without the
people knowing it,” he said.

Nwafor said the Federal Government was
looking into some recommendations by the trainees.

“The Master Bakers requested the government
to mandate the flour millers to incorporate the 20 per cent cassava at the
point of manufacture of the flour.

“The recommendation has been sent and the
Federal Government is working on that possibility,” he said.

Nwafor appealed to farmers to embrace the
government’s cassava transformation agenda to have the cassava flour readily
available.

“It is necessary for farmers to take
advantage of the initiatives of the government to not only better themselves
but also assist this policy drive,” Nwafor said.