NAN-AE-5
Inauguration
By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko
Ibadan, Dec. 1, 2016 (NAN) The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan and its partners, on Thursday launched a bio-control product “aflasafe’’ to reduce “aflatoxin’’ poison in maize and groundnuts.
The Project Managing-Director, IITA, Mr Matieyedou Konlambigue said the Aflasafe Technology Transfer Commercialisation Project (ATTC), was designed in partnership with both private and government entities.
He said the partnership was to ensure that aflasafe products reached millions of farmers throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by certain fungi that are found on agricultural crops such as maize (corn), peanuts, cottonseed, and tree nuts.
The main fungi that produce aflatoxins are Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, which are abundant in warm and humid regions of the world
Konlambigue noted that the project would contribute to improved food safety and increased income of smallholder African farmers.
“It is slated to cover 500,000 hectares in 11 countries where aflasafe will soon be registered.
“The project will work with national partners to register aflasafe products in nine additional countries.
“Our target countries are Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Gambia, Uganda and Zambia.
“The project which would last from 2016 to 2020 was funded by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” he said.
He emphasized that aflasafe is a natural, safe and cost-effective bio-control product that significantly reduces aflatoxin content in maize and groundnut.
“Aflasafe is applied two to three weeks before flowering at a rate of 10kg per hectare.
“Consumption of aflasafe-treated crops creates healthier farm families and communities,” he said.
Earlier, the IITA Deputy Director-General, Dr Kenton Dashiell said for over a decade, IITA and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) worked closely with several partners to develop aflasafe.
“A manufacturing plant capable of producing five tons aflasafe per hour is operational at IITA, Ibadan; another is under construction in Kenya, and a third is on the way in Senegal.
“Following years of painstaking scientific work to develop products tailored for different African nations and firmly establish their efficacy, aflasafe products are ready to be manufactured and distributed to farmers at large scale,” he said.
In addition, Dr Amare Ayelaw, from the AU pointed out that aflatoxin is a poison produced by the fungus, aspergillus flavus, which resides in soil and infects crops in the field.
“Aflatoxin contaminates up to 65 per cent of maize and groundnut crops, in some countries over 95 per cent of children younger than five years have aflatoxin in their body signifying high exposure. It causes liver cancer, sometimes death; suppresses the immune system and stunts child growth.
“It contaminates feeds, kills chickens, decreases productivity and profitability of livestock. Crops with higher than permissible aflatoxin levels are either forced into low-value markets or destroyed,” Ayelaw said. (NAN)
CC/LAB/IS
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Edited by Lydia Beshel/Ismail Abdulaziz