Varsity promotes indigenous food, packaging solutions of sorghum flour

By Aliyu Inuwa Mansir On Jan 24, 2024

BUK, indigenous food, packaging , sorghum flour — Varsity promotes indigenous food, packaging solutions of sorghum flour

The Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA), Bayero University Kano (BUK) has set out to promote indigenous food and address its challenges.

Director, Center for Dryland Agriculture, Prof. Jibrin Mohammed Jibrin, on Tuesday stated this at a media briefing on sustainable packaging solutions for composite sorghum flours.

According to him, the center has conducted research on sorghum, which is indigenous and more nutritious than the majority of the food that Nigerians consume.

“We understand that among all the food that we consume in Nigeria, sorghum is the most nutritious food that we have, and people are neglecting it because of its long processing before using it. That is why we decided to conduct research on it and see how we can add value to it and process it in a manner in which it will attract people’s attention, save their time when it comes to food preparation, and have health benefits.”

“For us to achieve our target, we understand that so much has to be done in terms of packaging because if you want people to patronize it, you must have good packaging that will attract people’s attention. We have a good package that your flour will not damage for up to six months.”

“What we have now is the end product, composite flour made up of sorghum, soybeans, and cassava.”

He added that the research is a collaboration with the University of Reading UK, the Intentional Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), and Tazij Nig. Ltd.

In a remark, Dr. Hakeem Ajiegbe, who is the lead researcher, said that the research findings would also help address the issues of cancer that are related to the food people eat.

“People eat food that has no health benefit, and sometimes even eat something that will lead them to cancer. If we keep consuming something like this, it will help us to have more nutrition in our body.”

“Now If you go to any market and say you want to buy sorghum flour, you may not find it. The only thing that you can find is maize flour; the rest, sorghum flour, is scarce.”

“That is why we conducted research on it and came up with composite flour; it simplifies the processing. Now people, especially women, can use it within a short period of time and get the result.”

He added that the findings of the research targeted three sectors, which are health, entrepreneurship, and saving time during food preparation.