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The war in Ukraine caused a veritable earthquake on the international wheat market. Russia being the world’s largest exporter of wheat and Ukraine the fourth. And for African countries that import cereals, the price is a major issue. Many entrepreneurs offer alternatives to wheat flour and substitute products: rice flour is one of them.
« Wheat is expensive. A 500 gram baguette costs 200 CFA francs. It was 150 or 125 before. Everything is expensive now. Wheat prices are soaring in Senegal. So for the president of the Platform of Agrifood Actors in the Saint-Louis region, which has 3,000 women processors, there is no secret: you have to consume local.
« In the future, to consume Senegalese well, we are told that we must consume what we have. »
This organization produces different types of flour including rice flour. For Gnagna Gueye Mar, it represents a good alternative to wheat bread: “ The pancakes can be made by mixing 250 g of wheat flour with 125 g of rice flour, for example. »
Totally adjustable proportions with this increasingly used rice flour.« In the sub-region, Explain Gnagna Gueye Mar, we are always ordered rice products. Rice flour is increasingly consumed: there are rice cakes, rice crackers and baking flour. »
Work on food formulas based on rice flour
Already used in various traditional dishes such as ablo, rice flour is easily accessible, explains Antoine Adidehou, agricultural engineer in Benin: “ Once you already have packaged husked rice, it’s not complicated to turn the rice into flour. Just take it to the mill which grinds it, like they make corn flour. »
Christophe Mugangu works for the NGO Rikolto. He is based in Bukavu in eastern DRC: ” What is happening in Ukraine has shown us very clearly that we are dependent, vulnerable and fragile in terms of food. »
For him, the nutritional value of rice is to be highlighted. With the university, he is working on rice-based food formulas to compensate for the nutritional value of unavailable foods, a boon
« We are able to make rice bread, which was not very common at our place. And then the nutritional value of these formulas is that we combine this rice with soy flour, chia flour, spirulina and many other products. »
Rice cultivation is developing on the continent, although today it is still mainly imported. Rice flour could therefore represent part of the solution, especially since locally produced rice can be competitive.
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