FG trains 5,000 bakers nationwide

No fewer than 5,000 master bakers have been trained on the use of cassava flour for making bread in the South- South/South-East geopolitical zones of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has said.
Assistant Director, Roots and Tuber Division of the ministry, Mr. Ayeni Olusegun, dropped the hint in Owerri at a two-day training workshop organized for Master Bakers in the South East and South/South of Nigeria by the Ministry of Agriculture, powered by the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in conjunction with Cassava: Adding Value for Africa, CAVA.
Olusegun stated that the Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina had approved the training of more than 5,000 master bakers across the country when he discovered that increased job creation could be harnessed using cassava in bread making right from its planting, processing and marketing.
According to him, the whole idea and essence of the programne was to train master bakers in the two geo-political zones of the country on the need for inclusion of 20 percent of cassava flour in making bread.
The expert advised bakers to take their training seriously to ensure the realization of the motive of the Minister for Agriculture in tackling unemployment in the country, pointing out that the minister realized that involving the bakers would be the best way to mop up the cassava flour which was hitherto wasting.
Also speaking, the Imo State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Development, Mr. Clement Iwunze commended the federal government for mounting the workshop for bakers, saying it was one of the best innovations of the minister.
He observed that, through the training, importation of wheat into the country would stop and it would encourage concentration of cassava flour which abounds everywhere.
Iwunze explained that the substitution of cassava by 20 percent was good not only for the bakers but for the entire country, especially in the areas of cost effectiveness in production as well, adding that instead of importing wheat, it could be substituted with cassava to give the same quality.