DAILY GRAPHIC, Monday, July 23, 2012, Pg. 69. Ministry draft policy on composite flour

Story: Mary Ankrah
THE government has drafted a policy aimed to transform Ghana’s flour industry to regularly produce and market at least 50 per cent of flours as composite flour.

The draft policy which is underway is expected to be used in the bakery industry as a means to expand markets for locally produced crops including cassava, sweet potato and corn.

More so, the draft policy would enable the country to institutionalise the production and availability of composite flour containing at least five per cent of alternative flours by wheat flour millers by 2015.

This, according to the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) would create an enabling environment for the utilisation and consumption of composite flour to boost the country’s economy as well as create job opportunities for most Ghanaians.

The Minister of MEST, Ms Sherry Ayittey, made this known at a one-day consultative workshop on composite flour policy today (Wednesday) in Accra.

The workshop was to solicit for stakeholders input into the draft policy to increase public and institutional awareness of the socio-economic and commercial importance of composite flour production, utilisation and consumption in the country.

To that effect, MEST had inaugurated a 10-member committee to lead in the development of the policy document.

The committee include MEST, Ministries of Food and Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Finance and Economic Development; Flour Millers Association, Bankers Association, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Consumer Association, Council for Technicaland Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) and Association of Ghana Industries.

According to Mrs Ayittey, the government was keen on promoting local products especially where they guarantee the abundance of food at relatively affordable price to the low income people in society.

Composite flour, she said had the potential to reduce wheat imports by substituting local cereals, starches or proteins in traditional wheat products as the country cannot locally grow wheat  due to the climate and soil conditions which always make it imperative for the country to import wheat or wheat flour  to make bread or pastries.

She observed that despites various initiatives by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, composite flour programmes in developing countries had not succeeded in reducing wheat imports even though extensive research had showed that accepted wheat products could be made with as much as 20 to 40 per cent with purified starches, 10 to 30 per cent with rice flour, five to 20 per cent cereal and root flours, or with three to 15 protein flours.

Such programmes, she indicated failed because of lack of regular supply or raw materials and so there was the need to improve transport infrastructure, suitable storage facilities and a technological capacity to ensure high and consistent quality of the produce.

In that direction, she said the government was taking steps to embrace commercialisation of composite not only by sponsoring and encouraging research but also would initiate plans to pilot the production of baked products in schools and hospitals.

Ms Ayittey expressed that with legislative backing, the government would reinforce the inclusion of not less than 10 per cent local products into flour for bread making to help transform those cereals or starchy crops into industrial and economic crops.

“The broader use of composite flour technologically would have positive repercussions by encouraging the use of local resources especially at the primary sector level,” she added.

That, she said would create new commercial outlets for family agricultural operations, processing units, and bakeries as well as reduced importation of wheat in the country.

In an interview with  the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ambar Quality Foods Limited, Mrs Gertrude Quashigah, a participants at the workshop, she observed that the draft policy would add value to Ghanaian farmers to laud them for their hard work and would increase awareness to enable cateress to carry their food business to a different dimension.

“Ghanaian farmers are hardworking and the only way to remember them is to add value to their produce by processing and packaging and through this the country’s currency would be strengthened”, she expressed.