Composite flours: Prospects for their application in developing countries—the case of the Andean pact countries

Abstract

The technology of composite flours, through which a partial substitution of wheat flour by flours produced from locally grown grains is accomplished, represents an interesting option to control the negative effects caused by increasing imports of wheat in non‐wheat‐producing developing countries. Composite flour research has been carried out in developed and developing countries since 1964 when FAO first presented its Composite Flour Programme.

Research has shown that the introduction of the composite flours concept is technically feasible and economically desirable in most cases. However, the expected impact on agroindustrial development of wheat nonproducing countries has not been produced because the technology has not been successfully introduced to the industrial sector. This paper states that for a technological change to succeed, the institutional and policy environment has to be favorable and appropriate changes on the macroeconomic environment have to be made. MEPS (methodology for assessing and programming production‐consumption systems) is an appropriate tool for characterizing the system in which the composite flour technology is to be introduced, for quantifying the macro‐ and micro‐economic implications of introducing the technology and for designing and simulating the required measures that must be taken for implementing a composite flour program.

The results of applying MEPS to assessing and programming the systems of the five Andean Pact countries are described. The comparison of the five country programs against a 5‐year projection of the present wheat system (based on 90% to 100% imported wheat), indicated that the implementation of the programs would promote the incorporation of 700,000 new hectares for the local production of grains (wheat, rice, com, barley, and soybeans) and would generate 51,000 new jobs, US $110 million in value added, and US $100 million in foreign exchange savings. The most outstanding characteristic of the composite flour programs described in the paper is that in their design, not only activities and investment requirements were considered, but also the necessary policies for the technical change to take place. The programs are under consideration by the governments of the Andean Pact Countries within their Food Security Scheme. The programs would produce the greatest impact in the agricultural component of the systems and would introduce technical change in the agricultural and agroindustrial components, with the possibility of creating important demands on the subregional agricultural inputs and capital goods sector. The subregional character of the studies and the standard methodological approach used facilitated the outlining of a subregional composite flour program. The operation of such a program would accelerate subregional harmonization of policies and program development at the country level, and would integrate important activities such as the purchase of wheat, machinery and equipment, project financing, and the provision of technical assistance. The programs and the methodological approach used represent a step forward in the direction of selecting the most favorable conditions, policy and otherwise, for the successful transfer of the composite flour technology in developing countries.