Ministry Boosts Use Of Composite Flour

THE Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Clement Eledi, has stated that the world food crisis presents an opportunity for Ghanaians to tap from local resources.

He said Ghanaians should harness the best from the local staples to empower farmers to stay in production and thereby provide a boost for the local economy.

He was speaking in Accra on Tuesday at the launch of cassava and maize composite aimed at promoting the use of cassava and corn composite flour in the production of bread and pastry products.

It was under the theme: 'Using composite flour products to reduce the effect of the global rising cost of wheat flour.

Mr Eledi said the daily consumption of bread is about two kilogrammes per average household which forms about five to 15 per cent of the monthly household budget.

"The base for the production of bread and pastry is wheat flour which is increasing in cost and hence the reduced size or the consequent increased in price of its products," he said adding that "the cost of a bag of flour in mid January was at GH¢39 but currently it is GH¢66".

He noted that government is in negotiation with the flour mills to provide composite flour to secure supply to local bakers.

The Assistant Director of Women in Agricultural Development (WIAD), Ms Paulina Addy, said flour products have become common feature of people's diet and therefore called for efforts to reduce the price of these products.

She stated that although dietary habits are really difficult to change, previous efforts at introducing composite flour products had been widely accepted by consumers adding that "they did not detect much difference".

Ms Addy assured the general public that composite flour is made up of high quality cassava flour and poses no harm to consumers.