Prevention and control of

aflatoxin contamination
in value chains
Contribution of GIZ
Bruno Schuler

15.03.2016

Division Rural Development and Agriculture

Slide 1

Content
1. Background: Food losses, issue of aflatoxin, challenges, abbreviations
followed by GIZ project activities:
2. Promotion of value chains and reduction of risk of aflatoxin
contamination: by the Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and
Food Sector, commissioned by BMZ Special Initiative
ONEWORLD No Hunger!.
3. Further (planned) activities to reduce post-harvest losses and possible
aflatoxin contamination: by various projects worldwide
4. Aflasafe technology in Zambia: Upscaling and dissemination in other
countries in Africa: by IITA/CGIAR - CCAFS, GIZ/ITAACC, Bill&Melinda
Gates Foundation, USDA, PACA and other partners
5. Aflatoxin risk assessment as part of the Rapid Food Loss Assessment
Tool (RLAT): by Sector Project Sustainable Agriculture (SV NAREN)

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Division Rural Development and Agriculture

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Aflatoxin - Background

FAO estimates that one third of all food produced around the world is lost before
it reaches our plates. Losses and waste occur at every level of the value chain

Food losses occur mainly at the immediate post-harvest stages in developing

countries (whereby causes are often related to pre-harvest stages, i.e. choice of
seed)

Around a quarter of the world food crops as well as worlds grain harvest may be
contaminated with mycotoxins (FAO)

Contamination with aflatoxin is a major barrier in linking African farmers to

markets as aflatoxin prevents commodities from meeting international, regional
and local regulations and standards

Most severely affected countries are those located between the 40th northern and
the 40th southern lines of latitude

Aflatoxin is a significant threat to both human and animal health.

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Division Rural Development and Agriculture

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Aflatoxin important factor for food losses

Biological causes

Mechanical
causes
Aflatoxin

Food
Losses
Quantitative
losses

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Qualitative
losses

Division Rural Development and Agriculture

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Most severely affected countries by aflatoxin

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Division Rural Development and Agriculture

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Challenges for development cooperation

Awareness for aflatoxin contamination and health danger is low,
especially at producer and consumer levels
No alternatives to contaminated food available
No methodology: How can contaminated food be treated?
Lowering aflatoxin levels requires a systematic approach
addressing various causes

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Division Rural Development and Agriculture

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Abbreviations of organisations and programmes

BMZ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
with the special Initiative ONEWORLD No Hunger
CCAFS Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (research
programme of CGIAR)
GIAE Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food Sector
(global programme concentrating on 12 countries in Africa)
GIZ Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
GmbH (German development cooperation)
ITAACC Innovation Transfer into Agriculture Adaptation to Climate
Change (GIZ sector project with focus on Africa)
NAREN Sustainable Agriculture (GIZ sector project with global focus)
PACA Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (initiative)

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Division Rural Development and Agriculture

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2. Promotion of value chains and reduction of risk

of aflatoxin contamination
by the
Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food Sector
in some countries in Africa

Activities of GIZ
2. Promotion of value chains with risk of aflatoxin contamination
and reduction of risk of aflatoxin contamination:
by the Green Innovation Centres for the Agriculture and Food
Sector (GIAE),
commissioned by BMZ Special Initiative ONEWORLD No
Hunger!.
Projects in Benin (rice, soya), Burkina Faso (rice), Cameroon
(poultry), Ethiopia (wheat, beans), Ghana (maize, rice) Kenya (milk),
Malawi (groundnuts, soya, sunflower), Mali (rice), Nigeria (rice,
maize), Togo (groundnuts, soya), Tunisia (milk, meat), Zambia (soya,
groundnuts, milk)

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ONEWORLD No Hunger Initiative - Focus countries

TUN

IND
BUR

MLI
JME
ETH

NIG
GHA

KAM

KMB

SOM

TGO
BEN

KEN

SAM
MWL

Global Programmes:
Food and nutrition security, enhanced resilience
Innovation Centres for the agriculture and food sector
Soil protection and rehabilitation for food security

Seite 10

Examples of planned project activities related to groundnuts in 2016

Malawi
- Provision of aflatoxin management training services
- Provision of diagnostic services
- Integrated aflatoxin management along the whole value chain
- Storage of aflatoxin-free products through improved drying technologies
and warehouse management practices

Togo
- Establishing of a national lab for aflatoxin analysis
- Extension towoards prevention of contamination during production and
post-harvest activities

Zambia
- Control and reduction of aflatoxin during production, storage and
processing

3. Further (planned) activities to reduce postharvest losses and possible aflatoxin

contamination
by various projects
in some countries worldwide

Activities of GIZ
3. Further (planned) activities to reduce post-harvest losses and
possible aflatoxin contamination:
by various projects
commissioned by BMZ
Projects in

Africa: Cte d'Ivoire, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda,

Zimbabwe
Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, ASEAN countries
Latin America: Bolivia, Guatemala

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Division Rural Development and Agriculture

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4. Aflasafe Technology in Zambia: Upscaling and

dissemination in other countries in Africa through
on-farm trials for wide uptake and utilisation
Opportunities and difficulties
in the research and development cooperation
by
IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
ITAACC - Innovation Transfer into Agriculture Adaptation
to Climate Change (GIZ sector project with focus on Africa)
and other partners

Aflatoxin in Zambia
Aflatoxin levels (ppb) in maize

flour from markets & homesteads

Proportion of samples (%)

District

Range

Mean

Safe (< 4 ppb)*

Unsafe (> 10 ppb)#

0.7 108.8

15.1

69.2

30.8

3.3

85.7

14.3

0.0 255.0

55.1

10.0

80.0

Nyimba

0.0 81.4

16.6

60.0

33.3

Petauke

0.1 103.2

17.5

73.3

20.0

Chipata
Katete
Mambwe

0.0 10.9

*As

per EU standard; # As per Zambia standard

www.iita.org

Aflatoxin in Zambia
Aflatoxin levels (ppb) in

groundnut flour from markets & homesteads

Proportion of samples (%)

District

Range

Chipata

0.4 3435

Lundazi

0.7 310

Mambwe

1.1 5234

Mean

Safe (< 4 ppb)*

Unsafe (> 10 ppb)#

176.5

28.6

53.6

63.6

15.8

68.4

523.3

10.0

80.0

Nyimba

1.4 376

76.0

33.3

55.6

Petauke

1.7 775

147.3

13.3

66.6

*As

per EU standard; # As per Zambia standard

A member of CGIAR consortium

Aflasafe

Dead sorghum grains coated with a mixture of

atoxigenic strains, a polymer and a blue dye

Aflasafe efficacy in Zambia

Aflatoxin (ppb)

14

84%
reduction

74%
reduction

160

12

140

10

120

89%
reduction

96%
reduction

100

Control

80

Treated

60
4

40

20

0
2012/2013

2013/2014

Maize
www.iita.org
A member of CGIAR consortium

2012/2013

2013/2014

Groundnut

Aflasafe Product Development

Senegal

Nigeria

Rwanda

The
Gambia

Uganda

Burkina
Faso

Kenya
Ghana

Burundi
Tanzania
Malawi

Zambia

Mozambique

Strain
development in
progress

A member of CGIAR consortium

Products under
testing in
farmers fields

Product ready
for registration

Product
registered

Upscaling of aflasafe application

Senegal

Nigeria: Farmers to produce

260,000 tons of Aflasafe maize;
Public-Private Partnership
Senegal: Area-wide treatment
during 2013 to 2015 with 32
tons; private sector led
Kenya: Government buy-in;
about 230 tons procured;
excellent support
Zambia: New effort beginning

A member of CGIAR consortium

Kenya

Biocontrol efforts

Create a sustainable system

(commercialization/public good) where
small holder farmers have access to
Aflasafe and are incentivized to utilize
Aflasafe to control aflatoxin levels

Need for business plan, manufacturing

capacity, marketing and distribution
strategies

Advocacy, awareness, demonstration of

product value

Full registration, licensing and

stewardship

Training and technical back-stopping

Develop second generation product

Develop regional strains

A member of CGIAR consortium

www.aflasafe.com

5. Rapid Loss Assessment Tool (RLAT)

for agribusiness value chains

by the Sector Project Sustainable Agriculture

(SV NAREN)
can be applied in crop value chains in Africa

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Aflatoxin assessment
Rapid Loss Assessment Tool (RLAT) for agribusiness value chains
contains a part for aflatoxin risk assessment
Tool developed by the Sector Project Sustainable Agriculture in
cooperation with project in Ghana
Publications: user guide for maize (2015), toolbox (2016), case study of
maize in Ghana (2016)
The tool can be applied for food loss and aflatoxin risk assessment in
crop value chains in cooperation with projects.

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Division Rural Development and Agriculture

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Integrating the aflatoxin risk into the Rapid Food Loss Appraisal Tool
Aflatoxin checklist:
Points of increased risk for aflatoxin contamination along the production to
consumption chain
Risk evaluated as percentage of positive responses
List has to be specifically conceived for every commodity
Bio-physical measurements:
Indication of aflatoxin risk via number of discoloured grains (which has no direct
relationship with aflatoxin, but indicates a higher risk)
Use of blue-light as aflatoxin indicator not successful high rate of
instrumentation needed in the field, including access to power
Laboratory testing is too lengthy and complicated (sampling!) for RLAT, but
should be recommended as a follow up if a high risk has been detected by the
number of discoloured grains

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Division Rural Development and Agriculture

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Example: Transect Walk

Sector Project Sustainable Management of Resources in Agriculture"

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Small Scale Farmer

Production

Production

Livestock feed Own consumption

Sale to local
market

Contaminated
livestock products

Market loss
Reduced milk
productivity
Livestock disease
burden
Reduced prices of
products
Discarded products

Human health
impact
Disease burden
Reduced
productivity

Export - oriented Farmer

Market loss
Supply shortage
Discarded Grain
Litigation
Human health
impact

Sale to trader

Quality standards
not met
Export

Own consumption

Human health
impact
Disease burden
Reduced
productivity

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Thank you for your attention!

See also library on post-harvest publications:
https://www.donorplatform.org/postharvest-losses-and-foodwaste/on-common-ground

Sector Project "Sustainable Agriculture"

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