In Burkina Faso, a chocolate maker launched the production and sale of a series of breads made from local cereals in mid-June "to solve the wheat crisis, promote local flours and publicise the know-how of artisan bakers".

André Bayala, who is well known in West Africa for having created the first training centre for the food industry in his country, is offering the people of Ouagadougou bread made from maize, millet, white and red sorghum, rice, moringa and sweet potato.

"The only problem is that the process of making this bread is quite long because the local flour has no gluten, so we have to use different types of yeast, which easily takes time," says Chef André.

His initiative shows to what extent the crisis in Ukraine and its impact on wheat imports have brought the use of local products in bread-making back into the spotlight. But past experience shows that there is still a long way to go before eating locally is just a slogan.

Russia and Ukraine produce 30% of the world's wheat supply and - before the war - Ukraine was considered the world's breadbasket, exporting 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural products per month through its ports. But since Russia launched its invasion in February, this has reduced global supply and caused prices for substitute products to soar.

Speaking in New York in May, Mr Guterres stressed that the conflict, combined with the effects of climate change and pandemic, "threatens to push tens of millions of people into food insecurity, followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine".

According to the UN, global food prices have risen by almost 30% compared to the same period last year.

White bread (mostly made from wheat flour and the most common form) is a staple food in most African countries and FAO data shows that the continent imported nearly 48 million tonnes of wheat in 2020 at the same time as it produced over 13 million tonnes of millet and 27 million tonnes of sorghum.

While the price of wheat, which is soaring unprecedentedly, is becoming increasingly expensive in many countries, there are many opportunities to incorporate locally grown cereals into bread-making in Africa.

And the main advantage for the consumer is the nutritional aspect.

"Local cereals such as millet, sorghum and fonio together have a much more complete nutritional profile than wheat, which is the main component of white bread," according to nutritionist Dr Djibril Traore, interviewed by the BBC on the lessons of the initiatives launched in Senegal.

They contain high amounts of crude fibre, essential minerals and a significant amount of vitamins.

Fonio in particular contains soluble dietary fibre, chromium, sulphur-containing amino acids such as methionine and cysteine, which make it of great physiological importance.

Fibre, in both forms, plays an important role in the metabolism. "Indeed, crude and soluble fibre sequester bad cholesterol (LDL) in the digestive tract and eliminate it with the faeces, which has important positive physiological consequences for health.

In Niger, breads made from a mixture of sorghum and wheat flours have been developed. And the Réseau National des Chambres d'Agriculture du Niger, one of the key partners in this programme, has found many advantages to the compound bread: millet, sorghum and cowpea are gluten-free and provide a solution for those allergic to gluten; they are richer in protein, iron and minerals than wheat, so their incorporation provides more nutrients than wheat alone; incorporating up to 50% cowpea and sorghum can improve the diet of diabetics; the baguette's shape and composition offer a longer shelf life.

Cowpea, for example, is quite rich in lysine and arginine, essential amino acids that are hardly present in the amino acid profile of cereals, adds Dr Traoré.

Millet, maize, sorghum and fonio have been experimented with for incorporation into bread.

Unsuccessful experiments since the 1960s
However, it should be noted that all these properties are only true when these cereals are used in their whole form or when the degree of dehulling is very low.

In any case, people seem to be unaware of the health benefits that these important nutrients can provide. Breadmaking with the addition of local flours to produce what some call "compound bread" or "rich bread" has been tried several times with less than encouraging results.

It is important to recall that these efforts began in 1964 with the support of the FAO in the form of a vast programme to valorise local cereals in Africa.

Products such as millet and maize were experimented with in order to incorporate them into bread in a proportion of 15-30%.

Organisational failures
In 1979, the Senegalese government even decided to make the incorporation of millet in bread compulsory. Article 1 stipulated that the manufacture and sale of bread made exclusively from wheat was prohibited throughout the country. But less than a week later, the ministerial decree was suspended due to a shortage of millet.

In addition, there was the refusal of some bakers to comply with the decree, not to mention the poor quality of the bread produced: the millet had about 15% impurities for a standard set at 5% and the finished product was less crisp.

In the 1990s, "BROCI", a composite bread made with wheat flour (85%) and local maize (15%), was the subject of a large-scale programme in Côte d'Ivoire. The country has made further attempts since 2015.

Central Africa is not left behind. In Cameroon, local structures offer bread made from maize, cassava and potato flour, but they are limited by the low availability of raw materials.

...when will large-scale adoption take place?
It is obvious that the use of local cereals or pulses will serve to promote the national economy, reduce dependency and create jobs. Not to mention a significant nutritional benefit for the consumer.

According to some actors, more structured efforts are underway to move towards the establishment of a 'millet and maize' value chain composed of producers, processors, bakers and research institutions.

But obstacles such as lack of funding, the high cost of local products, and especially the low availability of these flours persist. The incorporation of these cereals requires a very fine granulometry that few processing industries are able to meet.

The success of the project depends largely on the eating habits of consumers.

 

MamP's

© Photo Credits : Cuisine Française

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