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June 10, 2009
by Naftali Mungai,
Africa Science
News Service
The International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI) is leading a new project, funded
by the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, to analyze the impact of aflatoxin
contamination on the livelihoods and health of people in Kenya
and Mali.
The project, according to a press release yesterday by the
International Food policy Research Institute (IFPRI), will also
seek to map areas at highest risk, identify cost-effective
control measures to reduce exposure to aflatoxins, and
disseminate findings to key stakeholders and policy makers.
Aflatoxin is a toxic, carcinogenic by-product of fungi that
colonize maize and groundnuts, among other crops. In Sub-Saharan
Africa, maize is significant as both a livestock feed and as a
staple accounting for 42 percent of the cereal crop. Groundnuts
are an important cash crop controlled largely by women.
More than 4.5 billion people in developing countries may be
chronically exposed to aflatoxins in their diets. Common to
tropical climates, aflatoxin contamination most often occurs
when crops suffer stress, such as drought or insect infestation.
Aflatoxins are considered unavoidable contaminants of food and
feed, even where good manufacturing practices have been
followed.
While developed countries regularly test for aflatoxin, many
developing countries lack cost-effective ways to test and many
smallholder farmers lack ways to prevent contamination, which
ultimately impedes their ability to market crops.
“In developed countries, exposure to such toxins is successfully
limited through stringent food safety regulation and
monitoring,” said Clare Narrod, IFPRI senior research fellow and
the project’s lead researcher. “Unfortunately, this is not the
case in developing countries due to the prominence of
subsistence farming systems, lack of irrigation, and inadequate
drying and storing facilities. As a result, many people are
chronically exposed to aflatoxins in their diets and are at risk
for serious health problems.”
The ingestion of high levels of aflatoxins can be fatal, while
chronic exposure may result in serious health conditions such as
cancer and liver cirrhosis, weakened immune systems, and stunted
growth. In livestock, some mycotoxins are acutely toxic and can
cause vomiting, feed refusal, and decreased weight gain in
swine.
While the full impact of the toxin is unknown, there have been
links to aggravation of health in HIV/AIDS patients in
populations that subsist on legume and cereal-based diets and
milk from their livestock.In the year 2004, more than 80 Kenyans
died of aflatoxin poisoning in various parts of the country.
“There is an urgent need to systematically collect data
concerning exposure to aflatoxin contamination, from the farm,
to the market, and on to the consumer,” said George Mahuku,
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) senior
scientist and project researcher.
The project will assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices held
by farmers, consumers, and others involved in agriculture
regarding aflatoxin, as well as their willingness to pay for
testing and use of control strategies.
A database of aflatoxin prevalence in selected sites in Kenya
and Mali will be created to measure the effectiveness of control
strategies. Risk maps that identify high risk areas for
aflatoxin contamination will also be developed.
“Across Africa, there is limited awareness of aflatoxin
contamination and knowledge about the technologies to reduce
it,” said Felicia Wu, Assistant Professor, University of
Pittsburgh, and project researcher. “More often than not,
farmers, traders, processors, and consumers are unaware of the
problem and its potential health risks. This project intends to
provide these key decision-makers with much-needed information.”
The project has been launched in conjunction with the
CIMMYT,
International Crop Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), University of
Pittsburgh, Uniformed Services University of the Health
Sciences, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Institut
d’Economie Rurale (Mali), ACDI/VOCA, and the East African Grains
Council.
“We hope to come away with a better understanding of the
economic consequences of aflatoxin contamination on poor
people’s health and livelihoods, and their ability to trade
their crops,” said Farid Waliyar, ICRISAT principal scientist
and director for West and Central Africa, and project
researcher. “Our findings will help lay the groundwork for a
coordinated response for improving aflatoxin control strategies
in Kenya, Mali, and elsewhere.” |
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