A regional project on aflatoxin control kicked off this week with an inception workshop at the Sun Safari Hotel in Bujumbura, Burundi. The Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Burundi, Hon. Odette Kayetesi, officially opened the workshop, attended by partner states officials, experts, the African Union, development partners supporting the project and IITA, and the media.
Commenting ahead of the Inception Workshop, the EAC (East Africa Community) Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social Sectors Hon. Jesca Eriyo noted that millions of people living in the East African region consume high and unsafe levels of aflatoxin through their diets on a daily basis, posing adverse health and economic effects along the food production and supply value chain, undermining efforts to improve nutrition and enhance agricultural production, and minimizing economic gains from agricultural products, especially for small-scale farmers.
“The inception workshop therefore introduced to key stakeholders the components and implementation arrangements of the EAC Regional Project on Aflatoxin Control and Prevention and constituted the Regional Experts Working Group on Aflatoxins.”
“We need a holistic and multisectoral approach that encompasses Agriculture, Health, Trade, and Industry sectors in implementing this project at the national and regional levels.” concluded the EAC official.
The EAC regional project on aflatoxin will be implemented with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The EAC will also work closely with IITA as a collaborating partner that will be responsible for technical backstopping.
Dr Victor Manyong, Director for IITA Eastern Africa hub based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, noted that East Africa is one of the hotspots of aflatoxin contamination – it has all the right conditions that the natural occurring fungi that produce aflatoxins thrive in. This has led to the destruction of millions of tonnes of grains, leading to huge losses of much-needed income and food, and trade and with health consequences.
“Researchers at IITA have been researching on ways to control aflatoxins for the past decade–with considerable success– and we are very excited to be part of this project to share the knowledge and technologies we have developed and to support the East Africa Community to find sustainable ways to deal with aflatoxins”.
IITA will be responsible for developing the regional biocontrol aflatoxin program, technical papers, and policy briefs that will inform the development of an evidence-based EAC Regional Policy on Aflatoxin abatement. Technical papers will be generated in the areas of st andards for food and feed, impacts on human and animal health, biocontrol and postharvest h andling, alternative uses and disposal systems, economic impact on trade. and a communication strategy.
For more information, please contact:
Catherine Njuguna, East and Central Africa Regional Communications Officer, c.njuguna@cgiar.org
About IITA www.iita.org
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is one of the world’s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. Its award-winning research for development (R4D) approach addresses the development needs of tropical countries. IITA works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is a non-profit organization founded in 1967 in Nigeria and governed by a Board of Trustees. IITA works on the following crops: cowpea, soybean, banana/plantain, yam, cassava, and maize. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.
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