© 2014. Elijah I. Ohimain. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: H
Interdisciplinary
Volume 14 Issue 3 Version 1.0 Year 2014
Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal
Publisher: Global Journals Inc. (USA)
Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X
The Prospects and Challenges of Composite Flour for Bread
Production in Nigeria
By Elijah I. Ohimain
Niger Delta University, Nigeria
Abstract- Due to changes in lifestyle and urbanization, the consumption of bread has increased in Nigeria
and other developing countries. Since, wheat cannot perform well under tropical climate, the country had
over the years dependent on wheat imports mostly from the United States. Wheat importation had had
detrimental effects on the Nigerian economy. In order to reduce the impact on the economy, Nigeria
released policy mandating the flour mills to partially substitute wheat flour with 40% cassava flour for
bread making. The potential benefits of the policy include Savings of the Nigeria’s foreign exchange
earnings of N 254 billion (1$ = N156) per annum, reduction in the severity of coeliac disease, utilization of
locally available crops and creation of employment and wealth. Substitution of wheat with other flour to
the tone of 40% would require improvers, which have to be imported. Other potential challenges of the
policy include poor quality of the bread, weak cassava flour supply chains, strong consumer preference
for 100% wheat bread, and the reluctance of millers to use composite flour. Except the aforementioned
challenges are adequately addressed, the 40% wheat flour substitution may fail like previous attempts.
Keywords: bread improvers, cassava, composite flour, food policy.
GJHSS-H Classification:
TheProspectsandChallengesofCompositeFlourforBreadProductioninNigeria
Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of:
FOR Code: 090899