{"id":17177,"date":"2026-06-20T12:55:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/aflasafe-ke01tm-launched-in-kenya-private-sector-asked-to-invest-in-the-technology\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T18:02:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:02:26","slug":"aflasafe-ke01tm-launched-in-kenya-private-sector-asked-to-invest-in-the-technology","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/aflasafe-ke01tm-launched-in-kenya-private-sector-asked-to-invest-in-the-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"aflasafe KE01TM launched in Kenya; private sector asked to invest in the technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<strong>Good news for maize farmers in Kenya and indeed Africa! The biocontrol product aflasafe\u00a0KE01\u2122, an innovative, safe, and effective technology for controlling aflatoxin contamination, was launched on 4 October at a ceremony at the Kenyan Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization (KALRO).<\/strong>\n<div id=\"attachment_1444\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1024_aflasafe1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1444 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/iita.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1024_aflasafe1.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of participants at the high table\" width=\"1024\" height=\"399\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1444\" \/><\/a>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1444\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The opening program of the ATTC in Nairobi, Kenya.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<a title=\"Visit the Aflasafe page on Aflasafe.com\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aflasafe.com\/aflasafe\">aflasafe<\/a>\u00a0KE01<sup>TM<\/sup>\u00a0has proven effective in reducing aflatoxin contamination by 70\u201380% in trials in farmers\u2019 fields across various parts of the country.\n\nThe technology was launched by Eliud Kireger,\u00a0<a title=\"Visit the KALRO website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kalro.org\/\">KALRO<\/a>\u00a0Director General, at a ceremony attended by policy makers, researchers, development partners, nongovernmental organizations, private sector partners, and representatives from the farming community from within and outside the country.\n\nThe launch paves the way for the production and distribution of\u00a0<a title=\"Visit the Aflasafe page on Aflasafe.com\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aflasafe.com\/aflasafe\">aflasafe<\/a>\u00a0KE01<sup>TM<\/sup>\u00a0and was followed by a business meeting to entice the private sector to invest in the technology to ensure its sustainable production and distribution to the farming community.\n\nSpeaking at the event, Kireger said he considered this a very important development for the Kenyan people, especially the farming community. He noted that\u00a0<a title=\"Visit the &apos;AFLATOXINS : Occurrence and Health Risks&apos; on the Cornell University - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences\" href=\"http:\/\/poisonousplants.ansci.cornell.edu\/toxicagents\/aflatoxin\/aflatoxin.html\">aflatoxins<\/a>\u00a0are a major challenge to maize production in the country and its efforts to secure food supplies and improve the health and well-being of its people.\n\n\u201cThe aflasafe technology could not have come at a more opportune time. Climate change and the accompanying extreme weather conditions, from drought to too much rain, are not only threats to food security but they also create favorable conditions for the mold that produces aflatoxin and increase in aflatoxin contamination,\u201d he said.\n\nKireger said that the adoption of this biocontrol technology with other management practices by farmers will reduce aflatoxin contamination by over 70% in maize and groundnut, increase crop value by at least 5%, and improve the health of children and women.\n\n\u201cHigh levels of aflatoxin in maize\u2014far above acceptable levels\u2014have forced regulators to remove maize grain and prevent it from entering the food\/feed chain leading to food insecurity and increase in food prices. aflasafe\u00a0KE01<sup>TM<\/sup>\u00a0is a safe and effective solution to this challenge.\n\nThe technology was first developed by the United States Department of Agriculture\u2013Agriculture Research Services (<a title=\"Visit the United States Department of Agriculture\u2013Agriculture Research Services website\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ars.usda.gov\/\">USDA\u2013ARS<\/a>). KALRO and\u00a0<a title=\"Visit the IITA website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.iita.org\/\">IITA<\/a>\u00a0partnered with USDA\u2013ARS and many other international and national partners to adapt and improve the technology to Kenya using locally sourced strains of the atoxigenic fungus.\n\naflasafe\u00a0KE01<sup>TM<\/sup>\u00a0was registered by KALRO, on behalf of the partners, with the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) on 29 June 2015. IITA and KALRO are also constructing a modular plant to manufacture the product at KALRO Katumani. Early this month, Kireger and IITA Director General\u00a0<a title=\"Visit Nteranya Sanginga profile page on the IITA website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.iita.org\/sanginga-nteranya-e\">Nteranya Sanginga<\/a>\u00a0signed a Technology Transfer and Licensing Agreement on aflasafe\u00a0KE01<sup>TM<\/sup>.\n\n\u201cWe anticipate completing the construction of the modular plant to manufacture aflasafe\u00a0KE01<sup>TM<\/sup>\u00a0at the end of the year and start production so farmers can have the product for the 2017 cropping season. This is the second plant in Africa; the first is at IITA Headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria. It is our wish to see this product widely distributed to all the major maize-growing regions in the country to make sure all the maize is safe for the people of Kenya,\u201d said\u00a0<a title=\"Visit Leena Tripathi profile page on the IITA website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.iita.org\/tripathi-leena\">Leena Tripathi<\/a>, IITA Country Coordinator, also speaking at\u00a0 the event.\n\nThe launch and subsequent business meeting were organized under the Aflasafe Technology Transfer and Commercialization (ATTC) project led by IITA. The project is designed to carefully but efficiently identify strategic options for partnership with private companies or government entities, execute those partnerships, and help ensure that aflasafe products reach millions of farmers.\n\n\u201cThis business meeting is the starting point of the commercialization of the product in Kenya to benefit farmers. We look forward to partnering with both private and public sectors to ensure the production and wide distribution of the product in the country,\u201d said Abdou Konlambigue, ATTC Managing Director.\n\nThis 5-year project funded jointly by the United States Agency for International Development (<a title=\"Visit the USAID website\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usaid.gov\/\">USAID<\/a>) and the\u00a0<a title=\"Visit the Gates Foundation website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gatesfoundation.org\/\">Gates Foundation<\/a>\u00a0covers 11 countries where aflasafe is or may soon be a nationally registered product: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda, and Zambia.\n\n[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=\u201d3\u2033 gal_title=\u201daflasafe KE01 TM launched in Kenya\u201d]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good news for maize farmers in Kenya and indeed Africa! The biocontrol product aflasafe KE01\u2122, an innovative, safe, and effective technology for controlling aflatoxin contamination.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":17178,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"science-area":[],"program":[],"location":[28],"news-type":[],"hub":[62],"crop":[],"impact-areas":[],"item-year":[194],"class_list":["post-17177","news-item","type-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-kenya","hub-eastern-africa","item-year-194"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/17177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news-item"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/17177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22990,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-item\/17177\/revisions\/22990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17177"},{"taxonomy":"science-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/science-area?post=17177"},{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=17177"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=17177"},{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=17177"},{"taxonomy":"hub","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub?post=17177"},{"taxonomy":"crop","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/crop?post=17177"},{"taxonomy":"impact-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/impact-areas?post=17177"},{"taxonomy":"item-year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/item-year?post=17177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}