- Aflatoxins contaminate staple crops in Africa and pose serious health risks. Integrated management approaches are needed to reduce contamination. - Key interventions include developing resistant crop varieties, using the biocontrol product Aflasafe, post-harvest practices like drying and storage, and raising awareness among farmers and throughout the value chain. - Combining resistance with biocontrol gives the best results, with field trials in Nigeria showing up to 98% reduction in aflatoxin levels compared to susceptible varieties without treatment.

1. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Ranajit Bandyopadhyay
IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria
Aflatoxins, Agriculture
and Technology
Solutions Available for
Abating the Aflatoxin
Challenge
Mapping Aflatoxin Contaminated Maize food and Feed
Chain: Developing a Roadmap for Safe Food and Feed for
Improved Health and Nutrition, New Delhi, 15 Jan 2014

2. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
We work with partners in
Africa and beyond to reduce
producer and consumer risks,
enhance crop quality and
productivity, and generate
wealth from agriculture.
What we do
Who we are
Our research for development
activities have delivered over
70% of the CGIAR's positive
impact on the food security and
livelihoods of over 500 million
people in sub-Saharan Africa
and beyond.

3. • Highly toxic metabolite
produced by the ubiquitous
Aspergillus flavus fungus
• The fungus resides in soil
and crop debris, infects
crops and produces the
toxin in the field and in
stores
Aflatoxin Facts
• Contamination possible
without visible signs of
the fungus
• Fungus carried
from field to store

4. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
• Unlike most fungi,
Aspergillus flavus is favoured
by hot dry conditions.
• The optimum temperature
for growth is 37 C, but the
fungus readily grows
between the temperatures of
25-42 C, and will grow at
temperatures from 12-48C.
• Toxin contamination more
when night temperatures are
high
• Drought stress predisposes
plants to aflatoxin
Disease Development & Weather
Source: www.aspergillusflavus.org

5. www.iita.org
Aflatoxin Contamination Occurs in
Two Phases
Phase I: Before Crop Maturity
 Developing crops become infected.
 Associated with crop damage (insect, bird, stress).
 Favored by high temperature (night) and dry conditions.
Phase II: After Crop Maturity
 Aflatoxin increases in mature crop.
 Seed is vulnerable until consumed.
 Rain on the mature crop increases contamination.
 Associated with high humidity in the field & store, insect
damage, and improper crop storage or transportation.

6. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Pre-Harvest Problem
Aflatoxin
(ppb)ppb)
Peanut (n = 188) Maize (n = 241)
Distribution (% samples)
> 4 54 70
> 10 41 52
> 20 29 24
Descriptive statistics (ppb)
Minimum < LOD < LOD
Maximum 3487 838
Mean 111 33
LOD = Limit of Detection; States sampled: Nassarawa,
Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Jigawa & Niger
Aflatoxin in Groundnut and Maize at Harvest, 2012, Nigeria
Increases in store

7. Contamination is most severe at low
elevations and during dry periods. During
drought the zone with contamination expands.
35°N
35°S Zone with Perennial
Contamination Risk
Aflatoxin Contamination:
A Perennial Concern in Warm Climates

8. acute
acute hepatic necrosis, cirrhosis,
carcinoma
Death; 108 in 1974 in Gujarat, 250
to 15,000 ppb aflatoxins in corn
chronic
carcinogenic
anti-nutritional
immune-suppressive
gut integrity?
BBC 2004, Gong et al 2004, NIEHS 2010
underreported
unknown
Human Health Effects

9. Kenya
district samples total aflatoxin levels (ppb)
<20 21-99 100-1,000 >1,000
Makueni 91 35 13 40 12
Kitui 73 38 21 32 10
Machakos 102 49 25 23 3
Thika 76 66 17 13 4
Total 342 47% 19% 27% 7%
CDC and Kenyan Ministry of Health 2004
Total samples
% samples with aflatoxin levels (ppb)
<5 5-15 16-30 >30
2074 53% 6% 15% 26%
Bhat et al. 1997; Food Add. & Cont.
India
Aflatoxins in Markets

10. Aflatoxin and Poultry (Broilers)
Aflatoxin
levels in
feeds in
Nigeria
Aflatoxin level (ppb) Samples (%)
<20 (safe) 38
>20 to 100 (up to 5x) 14
>100 to 500 (up to 25x) 41
>500 to 1,000 (up to 100x) 7
AF-free diet 500 ppb AF diet
AF-free
diet
500 ppb AF diet
~40% reduction in live
weight (8 weeks)

11. EC 2007
Aflatoxin and Trade

12. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Prevalence of Aflatoxin
• Several African staple commodities affected
• High human exposure in Africa – mother to baby
• Levels and frequency of occurrence high
• Concern for food and feed processors, government
and emergency food reserve agencies, school-
feeding
• Aflatoxins disproportionately impact the poor
• Highly toxic strains, conducive environmental
conditions, traditional farming methods and
improper grain drying and storage practices,
unregulated markets

13. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture – Institut international d’agriculture tropicale – www.iita.org

14. Aflatoxin
Intervention
Medical
Agriculture
Surveillance
Enterosorption
Pre-harvest
Food processing
e.g. Novasil clay
Agriculture & Medical Prevention of Aflatoxin-
related Food Security and Health Effects
(Adapted from Wild and Hall, Mutation Res., 2000)
Awareness
Regulation
Provision of safe food
Early diagnosis
Post-harvest

15. Pre- and post-harvest Interventions for
Aflatoxins
• Pre-harvest
– Resistant cultivars, if available
– Biological control, e.g., aflasafe
– Irrigation and water conservation practices
• Post-harvest
– Sorting
– Insect control
– Improved drying and storage
– Aflatoxin testing
– Food / feed processing / detoxification methods / binders
– Alternative uses including blending

16. www.iita.orgwww.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Integrated Management
The elements are:
• Awareness – entire range of value chain participants
• Advocacy – regional, national, investors
• Technology
• Training – farmers, transporters, traders, regulators,
consumers
• Policies – standards, harmonization, trade
• Institutions – regulators, markets, testing, private sector
• Trade / Markets – food/feed processors, poultry/fish industry
• Public good – home consumption; urban and rural markets;
government procurement, HGSF

17. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Resistant, High-Yielding Hybrids
334 396 400 488
800 809 816 956
5474 5671
6438
6087
5685
7115
6040 5891
5743
5662
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
Hybrids
Aflatoxin (ppb)
Grain yield (kg/ha)
Aflatoxin(ppb)
Grainyield(kg/ha)
Less toxin – high yieldKernel Screening Assay

18. www.iita.org
Products ready for registration
• Nigeria, Senegal, Burkina
Faso and Kenya
Products under field testing
• Zambia
Products under development
• Ghana, Tanzania and
Mozambique
Products development to start
• Mali, The Gambia, Uganda,
Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi
and South Sudan
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Biocontrol
Product: Aflasafe (Mixture
of 4 native atoxigenic strains)

19. www.iita.org
Farmers treating maize and groundnut fields with Aflasafe in Nigeria
MAIZE: Aflatoxin reduction (%)
Stage 2009 2010 2011 2012
Harvest 82 94 83 93
Storage 92 93 x x
PEANUT: Aflatoxin reduction (%)
Stage 2009 2010 2011
Harvest - 95 82
Storage 100 80 x
Results from 482
on-farm trials
71% and 52% carry-over of
inoculum 1 & 2 years after
application

20. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Aflasafe Plan & Plant
Capacity:
5 tons/hour

21. Biocontrol x Resistance
Experimental
variety
At harvest
Control Aflasafe
RSYN2-Y 19.6 1.7
RSYN3-W 6.9 1.8
SYN3-Y 18.4 1.7
TZB-SR (susc.) 57.5 4.7
After poor storage
Control Aflasafe
462 44
627 38
387 19
1152 163
Combining management tactics increases extent of aflatoxin reduction
Aflatoxin (ppb) in Low-Aflatoxin Maize Lines With
and Without Aflasafe Treatment
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium

22. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Training & Use by Farmers

23. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Advocacy and Policies
• National and regionally harmonized
standards in foods and feeds
• Intra-regional trade of safe food
• Enhanced capacity of regulators
• Alternative uses
• Disposal of contaminated material
• Regionally harmonized protocols for
biopesticides registration
• Inclusion of aflatoxin in nutrition and
health policies
• Aflatoxin alert system in Africa
• Critical role of PACA and RECs

24. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Markets
Doreo Partner analysis
Poultry industry
Export-oriented aggregators
Food processors
Large commercial farmers
Smallholder farmers
Market based
• Poultry feed
• Premium food
market
• Export
AgResults (Incentive-
cum-market based)
marketdemandfor
Aflasafe • 60% maize consumed by farmers
• 40% sold in the market

25. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Challenges
• Aflatoxin is a hidden problem
• Chemical analysis required
• Awareness is low
• Long incubation for expression of
health impacts
• Regulations either non-existent or
poorly enforced
• Market does not usually discriminate
• Demonstration of product value
• Lack of biopesticide manufacturers
The value of a
technology on the
shelf is as much
as the cost of the
space it occupies
on the shelf.
Must translate
knowledge into
usable products
and practices to
benefit people
But……

26. Pilot Implementation
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
• Value chain-centric: Farmers’ and
other value chain participants’
interest as the foundation of the
action
• Action-oriented: Using practical
methods to actively solve
problems, not just talking about
ideas, plans, or theories
• Innovation platform: problem
solving by participants working
regularly together to address
common issues and challenges.

27. Innovation Platform
• Platform meetings with
leadership and members of
Poultry Association of
Nigeria, feed manufacturers,
maize aggregators, aflasafe
farmers, vet professionals
and regulators
• Poultry farmers to buy all
aflasafe maize at a negotiated
premium
• Agriculture ministry to fund
NAFDAC to set up aflatoxin
testing facilities in each state
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium

28. Babban Gona Pilot
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
• Farmers’ cooperative with professional management
• Credit, inputs and technical services
• Yield enhancing practices
• Aflatoxin awareness
• Aflasafe use
• Aflatoxin testing – 100% met standard
• Incentive for meeting aflatoxin standard
• Warehousing
• Output marketing – linking to market
• Return profit after sale
• Farmers keep part of the harvest for family use

29. G-20 AgResults Aflasafe
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
• Pull mechanism – Aflasafe is one of the first three pilots
• Provides incentives after demonstrating adoption
• Private sector driven, but focused on smallholder groups
• Implementers provide credit, inputs and technical services to
increase yield
• Aflasafe purchased at cost to improve quality
• Maize tested for aflasafe strains; if present in large frequency,
the implementers incentivized with $18.75/ton maize
• Implementers negotiate maize sale at premium
• Project provides aflatoxin awareness, training of
implementers, and identifies potential market linkages
• Target: 260,000 ha in 4 years

30. Award-winning Research
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Charity Mutegi received the Norman Borlaug Award for Field
Research and Application from the World Food Prize Foundation.
Charity received this award in recognition for her work in various
facets of aflatoxin management in Kenya, which included
awareness raising, capacity building, establishing risk assessment
data, and extending and potential deployment of a biological
control product called aflasafe, for managing aflatoxin.

31. Summary
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
• Impact of aflatoxins have
several development
dimensions:
– post-harvest losses, nutrition,
health, crops, livestock, fish,
trade, markets, policies,
institutions and politics
• Reduction of aflatoxin will
improve human health,
increase farm income,
improve profitability of animal
industries, increase regional
and international trade, and
reputation of African products
in global markets

32. Ibadan
IITA
Tucson
USDA/ARS
IITA, USDA, AATF & Doreo have Teamed up to Bring
Aflatoxin Prevention to Africa
Made Possible by Many National Partners in Ministries, Industry, and on the Farm
Nigeria
For more information about aflatoxin biocontrol for Africa, check out: www.aflasafe.com

33. www.iita.org
Experimental
varieties
Aflatoxin reduction (%)
Resistance
alone
Biocontrol
alone
Resistance +
Biocontrol
RSYN2-Y 66 (60) 91 (90) 97 (96)
RSYN3-W 88 (46) 74 (94) 97 (97)
SYN3-Y 68 (66) 91 (95) 97 (98)
TZB-SR (Susc.) 58 (1152) ppb 92 (86)
% Reduction in experimental varieties compared to susceptible variety (TZB-SR) under natural conditions
% Reduction in varieties with biocontrol compared to susceptible variety (TZB-SR) under natural conditions
% Reduction in biocontrol treated plots compared to control plots of the same experimental variety
% Reduction in varieties with biocontrol compared to susceptible variety (TZB-SR) under natural conditions
% Reduction in biocontrol treated plots compared to untreated plots of the same variety
Synergistic Effect of Resistance and
Biocontrol in Reducing Aflatoxins at
Harvest and after poor storage

34. Biocontrol x Resistance
Experimental
variety
At harvest
Control Aflasafe
RSYN2-Y 19.6 1.7
RSYN3-W 6.9 1.8
SYN3-Y 18.4 1.7
TZB-SR (susc.) 57.5 4.7
After poor storage
Control Aflasafe
462 44
627 38
387 19
1152 163
Combining management tactics increases extent of aflatoxin reduction
Aflatoxin (ppb) in Low-Aflatoxin Maize Lines With
and Without Aflasafe Treatment
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium Mycored Europe, 28 May, 2013