Scientists at the National Agricultural Advisory Research Organization (NARO) have developed an effective solution to aflatoxins.
According to NARO Director General, Dr. Ambrose Agona, they have developed and patented the “NARO Aflatoxin Binder” and “Aflasafe” products.
Aflasafe.
Dr. Agona revealed that the Aflasafe product has been proven to consistently reduce aflatoxin contamination by over 80%, mostly in pre-harvest. In addition, it is easy to use, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly.
Currently, the Aflasafe technology is registered in nine African countries, including Tanzania and Kenya. Also the development is taking place in eight other countries.
In Uganda, Agona said, NARO is currently validating the product in farmers’ fields to generate reliable data for its official registration and subsequent commercialization.
This collaborative effort between NARO and IITA started in 2020, leading to positive outcomes like the reduction of aflatoxin levels in maize, sorghum, and groundnut at more than 85%.
He believes that for the success of this technology, enhancing awareness about aflatoxin and its management, increasing capability for routine testing, and giving premium prices to quality grain meeting trade and health standards are important drivers.
Aflatoxin binder
Aflotixin binder, Dr. Agona said, is composed of natural aluminosilicate clays obtained from the Albertine graben region of Uganda.
He said that it is effective in sequestering and binding the toxins from contaminated animal feed, depriving the toxins from entering into the animal’s bloodstream and getting assimilated into livestock tissues and products.
He revealed that fortification of aflatoxin-contaminated feeds with the NARO aflatoxin binder at a rate of 1% has been scientifically proven to effectively boost feed intake, growth rate and immunity to important diseases, such as Newcastle disease in poultry.
Furthermore, the binder successfully prevents the carry-over of aflatoxin into the livestock products, thus reducing or eliminating the potential exposure of consumers to health risks associated with aflatoxin contamination.
Management
Agona revealed that several technologies have been recommended to reduce crop aflatoxin content and subsequent human and animal aflatoxin exposure.
These include cultural practices, biological control, host resistance, monitoring and crop destruction, grain drying, sorting, storage, post-harvest processing, and dietary interventions.
Biological control is also an efficient and cost-effective method to prevent contamination during pre- and post – harvest handling.
At the heart of biocontrol technology to manage pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination of groundnut, sorghum, and maize are native and well-adapted atoxigenic (cannot produce aflatoxin) strains belonging to widely distributed genetic groups of the fungus Aspergillus flavus.
When selected, the friendly fungi are applied to the soil prior to crop flowering, they reduce aflatoxin in the farm by “pushing out” their toxic cousins, reducing aflatoxin in crops through a process known as “competitive exclusion.”
Agona said government has been, and is funding research efforts towards aflatoxin control and management, and these efforts have led to a solution called Aflasafe.
He noted that NARO has prioritized research on food and feed safety and has built capacity on aflatoxin research and testing for routine analysis of samples.
No need for Alarm
Agona noted that Uganda’s maize is safe, given the grain standards and grain policy frameworks in place to ensure the safety of grain in the market.
He noted that NARO, together with partners, is and will continue providing solutions to everyday problems that affect agriculture in Uganda.
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.
Also, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF) has developed and is implementing policies on nutrition, food and safety, while the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives has developed the grain standards and grain policies, all aimed at improving grain quality to meet national, regional and international standards for marketing with a focus on mitigating contamination of grain with aflatoxin and the associated health risks to consumers The grain traders under the East African Grain Council (EAGC) and the Grain Council of Uganda (TGCU) are vigorously promoting and implementing capacity building in grain handling standards for increased safety, quality and cross-border grain trade.
The private sector has also significantly complemented Government efforts by increasing capacity in post-harvest handling and grain storage, aimed at minimizing contamination of grain by aflatoxin and any other mycotoxins meeting grain standards for trade.
To date, over 180 modern grain silos of different sizes have been installed in the country to facilitate safe storage of grain and consequently mitigate Mycotoxins/Aflatoxins contamination.
Uganda produces about 5 million metric tons of maize annually thus, there is a gap in storage facilities that the Ministry is currently addressing in the market.
