Don urges FG to sustain policies on local beer brewing

Ini Billie, Uyo

The Federal Government has been urged to sustain policies that would promote the cultivation of local raw materials for the brewing of beer.

Prof. Augustine Ogbonna, Professor of Brewing Science and Technology with specialization in Malting Technology and Brewing Enzymology in the Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Uyo made this recommendation during the 102nd inaugural lecture of the institution.

Speaking on Tuesday in Uyo on the topic, “From Barley to Sorghum: A Paradigm Shift for the Nigerian Brewing Industry, Ogbonna said sustaining such policies would encourage the development of a sorghum breed that would replace imported barley, the main ingredient currently used for the production of beer in the country.

He stated that if the ban on the importation of barley malt in 1988 was sustained, it would have paved the way for the discovery of a local alternative to barley.

The expert further called on the FG to institute an effective National Agricultural policy that would ensure the research and development of high-yield sorghum hybrid seeds funded by brewing companies in Nigeria.

“The Nigerian Government must be consistent with policies that will promote and encourage the cultivation of local raw materials for beer brewing to enable breweries operating in the country to increase the use of such local materials in their beer production.

“Nigerian Government must stop policy reversals but concentrate efforts at developing a sorghum breed that would be capable of replacing imported barley as the main ingredient for beer production in the country. If the ban on the importation of barley malt in 1988, had been sustained, the discovery of local alternatives would have been a thing of the past.

“Government should enact a supportive and effective National Agricultural policy to ensure a compulsory, widespread and proper utilization by the local farmers, of high yield sorghum hybrid seeds that would be developed through researches funded by the brewing companies in Nigeria,” he stated.

Prof. Ogbonna said already, dedicated brewing scientists are ready and waiting to be motivated through employment and research funding, saying it would put an end to the era of sending Nigerian brewing personnel abroad for training at the expense of the Nigerian foreign exchange.

He lamented that all the breweries in Nigeria have been taken over by foreign investors who sabotage the local raw material initiative of the country by using their foreign raw materials, saying it was detrimental to the Nigerian economy.