EA STATES TOLD TO FIGHT AFLATOXIN INSTEAD OF FIDDLING

 

The East African Community (EAC) partner states have been advised to apply a recently developed biocontrol solution against Aflatoxin.

The biocontrol product, Aflasafe, can drastically reduce Aflatoxin in maize, the leading staple in the region now at the centre of a trade dispute. 

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) said Alfasafe was an effective weapon against the  toxic fungus attacking maize. 

In Tanzania, the product has been fully registered and is being manufactured and marketed by A to Z factory in Arusha.

"Therefore, maize farmers in Tanzania have access to Alfasafe TZ01 to protect their crops right from the field through storage", it said last week.

In Uganda, local strains for making a Uganda version of Aflasafe have been identified as are other strains in Kenya and Burundi. 

The statement by IITA, through eastern Africa centre in Dar es Salaam, comes as maize trade wars raged in the region due to the toxic fungus.

Last week, Kenya issued tough restrictions on maize imports from Tanzania and Uganda over the mycotoxins. 

It directed that the grains imported from the two countries must comply with the maximum Aflatoxin required levels of 10 parts per billion.

Nairobi had earlier banned importing the commodity from the two states, following reports that the grain imports had Aflatoxin levels above 2,000 parts per billion, beyond safety limits. 

Ms Catherine Njuguna, a communication specialist with IITA, said the biocontrol solution helps to produce Aflatoxin-safe food for consumers. 

"Traders can sell to lucrative regional and international markets with guaranteed higher returns", she said. 

Aflatoxin is a poison produced predominantly by the fungus 'Aspergillus flavus' in several staples in the region, especially maize. 

Depending on the type of food, Aflatoxin tolerance levels range from 0.1 to 15 parts per billion in the European Union and up to 20ppb in the US.

The EAC region, according to the experts, has set 10 ppb as the maximum regulatory level for maize in the member states. 

IITA warns that the health implications of the mycotoxins can be lethal in East Africa where maize is the leading staple.

On the average each person in Tanzania consumes about 405 grammes of maize per day, ahead of Kenya (400g) and Uganda (69g).

"Therefore, if maize is highly contaminated the likelihood of health impacts in Tanzania are also high", Ms Njuguna pointed out. 

She said although Kenya has lifted the ban on maize with tough restrictions, there was no assurance of sustained exports of the commodity if Aflatoxin menace was not addressed. 

According to statistics, 80 percent of smallholder farmers in Tanzania and Uganda are the bulk producers of maize and other cereals. 

"Tanzania and Uganda historically account for 80 percent of maize imports into maize-deficit Kenya and have benefited from this ready market.

"The lifting of the ban has highlighted the need for concerted  and coordinated efforts at the regional level to control Aflatoxins to  ensure food security for all", she said.