East African Business Week (Kampala)
Dar es Salaam — The Ministry of Agriculture
in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture and other partners have launched a project for the control
of mycotoxins and biocontrol of aflatoxins in the country that will add
value to Tanzania exported food products especially maize and cassava.
Speaking with the East African business Week in Dar es Salaam last week, the Principal Agricultural Research Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture Dr Omary Mponda said that the country was having a problem to most of its exported serial products that loses value on the world market as a result of the concentration of mycotoxins to crops.
According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United nations, mycotoxins are 'fungal metabolites which when ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin cause lowered performance, sickness or death in man or animals, including birds.
They occur in a wide variety of foods and feeds and have been implicated in a range of human and animal diseases.
Aflatoxins can be defined as any group of toxic compounds produced by certain molds, especially Aspergillus flavus, that contaminate stored food supplies such as animal feed and peanuts.
"It is a problem when trying to export groundnuts and maize to the world market where there is a requirement for a free concentration of mycotoxins or that such products meet the World Health Organization (WHO) requirements if they are to attain the good prices on the world market," Dr Mponda said.
(Dr Omari Mponda from the ministry of Agriculture expalining a point on the effects of afflatoxins in food, right is Prof Ben Fed of IITA By Kenan Kalagho)
Dr Mponda said most farmers cultivate these crops for sale and consumption and so it was important for the government to ensure that such crops are added value when exported on the world markets.
He said while Tanzania was amongst the African countries with a higher groundnuts export to the world market, it has not benefited much from the sales because they are of low quality.
"Our groundnuts were found to have the concentration of aflatoxins which are not good for business and that is why we are conducting research in the southern agriculture growth corridor in Dodoma and Manyoni regions with a view of coming up with the concentration of aflatoxin levels in the soil to such areas and see the measures on how to control the situation" Dr Mponda said.
He said research shows that about 18% of women and 20% of men who eat maize were found to be contaminated with aflatoxin which is bad for the health of human beings as it can lead to a retarded growth in children as well as cancer.
He said that these research projects that are being conducted in Tanzania and Kenya, including among other African countries, were aimed at reducing death to human beings and cancer related diseases which results from aflotoxin consumption while adding value to exported food products on the world market.
Dr. Ben Feed, Plant Pathologist and a researcher with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) said it was important that the country increases awareness about the mycotoxins poison that is emited from food products.
He said many people around the world and especially in the rural areas of Africa are not aware that they are being poisoned slowly whenever they eat food which carries mycotoxin fungus and that it was important to educate them that the highest concentration of these mycotoxins in their food was dangerous for their lives.
He said that if the biological solution to aflatoxins reduction in the soil succeeds it will give an added value assurance to farmers for their produce to expect more money if such produce reaches the world market, while at the same time protecting their health.
The Manager, Food Evaluation and Registration with the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) Dr Martin Kimanya said that they were concerned with the magnitude of mycotoxin in Tanzania and thus they were keenly collaboration with Tanzania Bureau of Standard (TBS) to know among others the concentration of aflatoxins to food products in the country.
Dr Kimanya however noted that it was hard to contain the problem as only products that were on trade had an access to be tested while leaving plenty of products in the rural areas prone aflatoxin contamination
He said that there was need for the government to educate the public so that they can be able to realize the magnitude of aflatoxin in the country in order to ensure that citizens were protected.
The mycotoxin and biocontrol of aflatoxin technology project which is co-funded by the Meridian Institute and USAID first developed in the United States before being spread to Africa. It is currently being done in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Senegal, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana.
Speaking with the East African business Week in Dar es Salaam last week, the Principal Agricultural Research Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture Dr Omary Mponda said that the country was having a problem to most of its exported serial products that loses value on the world market as a result of the concentration of mycotoxins to crops.
According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United nations, mycotoxins are 'fungal metabolites which when ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin cause lowered performance, sickness or death in man or animals, including birds.
They occur in a wide variety of foods and feeds and have been implicated in a range of human and animal diseases.
Aflatoxins can be defined as any group of toxic compounds produced by certain molds, especially Aspergillus flavus, that contaminate stored food supplies such as animal feed and peanuts.
"It is a problem when trying to export groundnuts and maize to the world market where there is a requirement for a free concentration of mycotoxins or that such products meet the World Health Organization (WHO) requirements if they are to attain the good prices on the world market," Dr Mponda said.
Dr Mponda said most farmers cultivate these crops for sale and consumption and so it was important for the government to ensure that such crops are added value when exported on the world markets.
He said while Tanzania was amongst the African countries with a higher groundnuts export to the world market, it has not benefited much from the sales because they are of low quality.
"Our groundnuts were found to have the concentration of aflatoxins which are not good for business and that is why we are conducting research in the southern agriculture growth corridor in Dodoma and Manyoni regions with a view of coming up with the concentration of aflatoxin levels in the soil to such areas and see the measures on how to control the situation" Dr Mponda said.
He said research shows that about 18% of women and 20% of men who eat maize were found to be contaminated with aflatoxin which is bad for the health of human beings as it can lead to a retarded growth in children as well as cancer.
He said that these research projects that are being conducted in Tanzania and Kenya, including among other African countries, were aimed at reducing death to human beings and cancer related diseases which results from aflotoxin consumption while adding value to exported food products on the world market.
Dr. Ben Feed, Plant Pathologist and a researcher with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) said it was important that the country increases awareness about the mycotoxins poison that is emited from food products.
He said many people around the world and especially in the rural areas of Africa are not aware that they are being poisoned slowly whenever they eat food which carries mycotoxin fungus and that it was important to educate them that the highest concentration of these mycotoxins in their food was dangerous for their lives.
He said that if the biological solution to aflatoxins reduction in the soil succeeds it will give an added value assurance to farmers for their produce to expect more money if such produce reaches the world market, while at the same time protecting their health.
The Manager, Food Evaluation and Registration with the Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) Dr Martin Kimanya said that they were concerned with the magnitude of mycotoxin in Tanzania and thus they were keenly collaboration with Tanzania Bureau of Standard (TBS) to know among others the concentration of aflatoxins to food products in the country.
Dr Kimanya however noted that it was hard to contain the problem as only products that were on trade had an access to be tested while leaving plenty of products in the rural areas prone aflatoxin contamination
He said that there was need for the government to educate the public so that they can be able to realize the magnitude of aflatoxin in the country in order to ensure that citizens were protected.
The mycotoxin and biocontrol of aflatoxin technology project which is co-funded by the Meridian Institute and USAID first developed in the United States before being spread to Africa. It is currently being done in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Senegal, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Ghana.
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