the Symposium on Wheats for More Tropical Environments - cimmyt

311Finally. it should be clarified that. inmany tropical countries. low breadprices have produced few benefits to<strong>the</strong> poor. Ra<strong>the</strong>r. <strong>the</strong> middle and upperincome groups. which are <strong>the</strong> mainbread consumers. have captured <strong>the</strong>benefit of <strong>the</strong>se policies. while <strong>the</strong>farmer. especially <strong>the</strong> small farmer whoproduces local staples such as maize.has been <strong>the</strong> main loser (5.14.16).Policies toward <strong>the</strong>wheat processing sectorAn integrated wheat strategy shouldcarefully rationalize investments inwheat processing. especially large-scalecapital and foreign exchange-intensivemilling and baking plants. Littlejustification is found for <strong>the</strong>establishment of a milling industry.given <strong>the</strong> need to efficiently use scarcecapital and promote employment.Removal of tariff protection on flourimports should effectively arrest <strong>the</strong>growth of this industry. until such timeas local wheat production might beestablished. Importing wheat as flourmaintains much greater flexibility infuture food-policy decisions and alsoreduces <strong>the</strong> power of one of <strong>the</strong>strongest voices. that of <strong>the</strong> millers. infood-import policy. Finally. mosttropical countries produce white flour.milled at an extraction rate of 70 to75%. Legally mandated higherextraction rates (e.g.. in Sudan). whichproduce off-white flour and breads.would allow saVings in wheat imports.Import policy and food aidWe have noted that cereal imports by<strong>the</strong> tropical countries have emphasizedwheat and. to a lesser extent. rice.Maize imports have largely beendestined for feeding livestock. Yet maizeis usually <strong>the</strong> cheapest cereal in worldmarkets. and is a staple food of mosttropical countries. especially for <strong>the</strong>poor. With consumer prices that reflectimport prices. maize has considerablepotential as a food import. Somedifficulties arise because most countriesconsume white maize. while yellowmaize dominates world markets. Yet.with <strong>the</strong> favorable price incentives andexport promotion seen for wheat. <strong>the</strong>reshould be no reason why maize cannotplay an important role in world foodtrade. Donor agencies could help bytargeting food aid to countries inaccordance with <strong>the</strong>ir staple food. Fortropical countries. thiS would meanmore emphasis on food aid in rice andcoarse grains.Promotion of conveniencefoods based on local food staplesBread-making technology has largelybeen imported from <strong>the</strong> industrializedcountries. At <strong>the</strong> same time, untilrecently. little research has beenconducted on <strong>the</strong> preparation of localfoods to meet <strong>the</strong> preferences andconvenience needs of urban consumers.There has been considerable researchon composite flours which mix wheatflour with maize. millet or cassava flourfor bread making (11,17). This appearsto be technically feasible. but <strong>the</strong>greatest obstacle in most countries isthat pricing policy favors wheat flourand prOVides no incentives to usemixtures.Meanwhile. private and public agenciesof wheat-exporting countries haveconducted Vigorous and apparentlysuccessful market-promotion programsfor wheat products. Government policyshould convert <strong>the</strong>se efforts into <strong>the</strong>national interest. perhaps by requiringthat <strong>the</strong>se export interest groupsconduct research and promotion thatbalances wheat with local food staples.Increasing domesticagricultural productionIn an integrated wheat strategy.increased agricultural production mustreceive high priority. Producing wheatdomestically is only one option.Alternatives include 1) promotion of