The IITA
CGIAR
No. 2340
22–26 August 2016
IITA efforts to control Aflatoxin in Tanzania impress US Senate staff
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isiting staff from the United States Senate, Washington DC, have applauded efforts by IITA to tackle aflatoxin contamination in key staple crops in Tanzania. Aflatoxin is a poison produced by some naturally occurring species of the fungus, Aspergillus that renders crops unfit for human and livestock consumption and reduces their sale value.
When consumed, aflatoxins cause serious negative health consequences including death in cases of extreme poisoning. Tanzania is reeling from the recent death of 14 people and scores of others falling gravely ill after consuming contaminated maize.
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Washington DC and from the US missions in Kenya and Tanzania visited IITA at its Eastern Africa hub in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania while on a tour of projects funded by USAID and USDA in the country.
The US Senate staff, who were Speaking during the visit, Tracy Cracken, accompanied by staff from the United the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Advisor at the USAID Regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, praised the efforts by the Institute in addressing agriculture challenges and in particular for transferring to Africa, Aflasafe, the biocontrol technology developed in the USA to prevent aflatoxin poisoning. She further promised to work with IITA and her partners including the Tanzanian government to fast track the development and registration of Aflasafe. Brian Dutoi, an International Agricultural Program Specialist with USDA noted in his e-mail to the IITA Director after the visit: “The delegates were very impressed by IITA’s efforts and progress, and they carried the experience home as a perfect example of the important work sponsored by US funds (in part). Thank you very much for the time and energy you put into preparing for the delegation and hosting us all, it is deeply appreciated.”
IITA staff demonstrate to the visiting team the production of AflasafeTZ at IITA-EA hub in Tanzania.
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Research in IITA has much potential to benefit the world – Paul Lehmann, Australian High Commissioner
D
uring a visit and tour of facilities at IITA Ibadan, His Excellency, Paul Lehmann, the Australian ambassador to Nigeria, accompanied by Hope Ayabina, the Public Affairs Officer Australia High Commission, praised the ongoing projects of the Institute and acknowledged that IITA has great promise for the world. The visitors were received by Kenton Dashiell, DDG Partnerships for Delivery on 23 August.
Lehmann said the mission to IITA aimed to strengthen the relationship between IITA L-R: IITA DDG Partnership for Delivery Kenton Dashiell (left) and Lehmann listen attentively as Ylva Hillbur, IITA DDG Research (right), highlights major agricultural research activities at IITA.
www.iita.org
and Australia and to explore how best the two parties can work together to enhance agricultural productivity in Africa. “Agricultural productivity is one of the key areas in which Australian Government takes as priority and IITA’s work in Agriculture has much potential to benefit not only Africa but other parts of the world as the effects of climate change and the demand for sustainable production are increasing everywhere,” he said. Dashiell through his opening remarks emphasized the need for proper government
policies towards agricultural research. “When policies are great new technologies can get to the farmers. Howerver, if the countries do not care about agriculture and import all their food, there will be no hope for helping farmers,” said Dashiell. Lehmann also commended the technologies developed by IITA such as AflasafeTM, a biocontrol product, which protects crops from aflatoxin contamination and NoduMax― an inoculant for legumes that enhances yield of legumes. He also applauded the success of the SARD-SC project.
The activities of the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) fascinated Lehmann. He congratulated them on their effort, and said the Agripreneurs are the future of Nigeria’s agriculture. “What you (IYA) are doing is inspiring and worthy of more recognition around the world. The Australian government is looking forward to learn from your experience and hopefully the rest of the Pacific and Asia will also gather new ideas from you. You are leaders and teachers and this is something you should be very proud of.”
IITA efforts to control Aflatoxin in Tanzania impress US Senate staff Cont’d from page 1
During the visit, the team was warmly welcomed by the staff at the hub led by its director, Victor Manyong. Manyong highlighted the many projects being executed at the IITA-East Africa hub funded by USAID and took the opportunity to thank the US government for their support over the years. He particularly highlighted work on aflatoxins, its dangers to health, especially for infants during the first 1000 days, and on trade. “There are millions of children within the East African region that are being affected by aflatoxin poisoning. The impacts are underestimated because people cannot see, smell, or taste the poison,” he said. George Mahuku, a plant pathologist at the hub and who is heading the efforts to control aflatoxins made a presentation on IITA’s progress in developing a biological
control product to control aflatoxin and gave feedback on his visit to the two districts in Central Tanzania, where the recent cases of aflatoxicosis had occurred. He said IITA started work on aflatoxin control in 2012 with surveys to establish the prevalence and levels of aflatoxins in maize and groundnut in the country. The team also collected samples to isolate and develop atoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus, to be used as candidates for biological control of aflatoxins. These surveys, he said, showed that aflatoxin contamination was prevalent in both maize and groundnut with more than 90% of the samples collected having detectable aflatoxin. Levels as high as 1,080 ppb of aflatoxin were obtained in some samples. In addition, this
work revealed that on average, 80% of Tanzanians were not aware of aflatoxin, its health impacts, or ways to minimize contamination. “Thanks to these earlier work which was supported by USDA-FAS (the Foreign Agricultural Service), and USAID, with strong collaboration with USDA-ARS (Agriculture Research Services) and the government of Tanzania, we now have developed a biocontrol product for Tanzania called Aflasafe TZ. This product is now being tested in farmers’ fields to assess its efficacy to minimize aflatoxin contamination,” Mahuku said. The group also toured IITA lab facilities for a demonstration on the production of AflasafeTZ and the ongoing work to identify the cause of the acute aflatoxicosis that happened in Kondoa and Chemba districts in Dodoma Region.
IITA Graduate Researcher named Borlaug LEAP awardee
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artha Shirley Epiphaneia Williams, a PhD student in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Federal University of Abeokuta and a graduate research fellow at the Food and Nutrition Sciences Laboratory, IITA has been awarded a fellowship for the prestigious Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (Borlaug LEAP). The Borlaug LEAP awards fellowships to outstanding graduate students who show great promise as leaders in the field of agriculture and related disciplines. IITA Bulletin 2340
As part of her fellowship, Martha will be working with her US mentor Ed Smith in his lab at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University while also continuing her work with Busie MaziyaDixon, her CGIAR mentor and Head of the Food and Nutrition Sciences Laboratory. Martha’s work is geared towards Investigating the Retention and Bioavailability of Beta-carotene, Iron and Zinc in fufu produced from Biofortified Cassava Roots in Sierra Leone. Martha Williams
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IITA Youth Agripreneurs win award at National Agricultural Exhibition “Nane nane” in Tanzania
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he IITA Tanzania Youth Agripreneurs (TYA) have received a trophy for being good ambassadors for young people through their efforts to tackle unemployment through agribusiness. This was during this year’s National Agricultural Exhibition dubbed ‘Nane Nane’ held from 1 to 8 August in Lindi, Tanzania, which they participated in showcasing their activities and products. The award was given by the Tanzania Agricultural Society (TASO) in recognition of the TYA’s effort, commitment, and active participation during the exhibition. “The trophy is an inspiration for us. We appreciate the recognition of our efforts to encourage youth to fight poverty in the country through agribusiness,” said the TYA Communication Officer Ndibalema.
The youth showcased some of the products from their small-scale cassava and soybean processing centers located at Kwembe and Mikocheni, Dar-es-Saalam, Tanzania. These included High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) and its products (cassava flour, cassava chin chin, cassava strips, and visheti) and soymilk. The group’s exhibition booth attracted high level dignitaries who included Florence Turuka, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries; Rosebud Kurwijila and Thomas Samkyi, Board Chair and Managing Director of Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB), respectively; and Nicomed Bohay, Managing Director of Private Agricultural Sector Support (PASS).
Kurwijila promised to continue to support “It was such an amazing experience for TYA to successfully meet their set us. This was our first time of participating objectives. She said youth participation in such a big, countrywide exhibition” he in agriculture development programs in said.
TYA representatives with the trophy they won at the national Agricultural show.
the country was necessary to catalyze the country’s efforts to fight poverty, hunger, and unemployment challenges. TADB has been supporting the youth in building their capacity to write proposals and business plans to tap into funding opportunities for youth programs. The financial institute will further look for areas to strengthen financial support for the project’s activities. The group also benefited a lot from the whole experience, from learning about new technologies and innovations they could add to their ventures, to networking with potential partners including financial institutions.
Board chair and the MD of the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) listening to TYA youth on their activities and products.
The theme of this year’s “Nane nane” exhibition by TASO was “Kilimo na Uvuvi, Kijana shiriki kimailifu, Hapakazi TU” or “Agriculture and Fisheries, Youth Efficiency Participation, here it is work only”, borrowed from the campaign slogan of the current President’s government. The group participation at the event was made possible through funds from IITA and TADB.
Announcements
IITA 50th Anniversary Kick-off Event: Lecture by IFAD President Kanayo Nwanze, IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria, 19 October. First Regional Cocoa Symposium, IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria, 8–10 November. More details available here. P4D (Partnerships for Delivery) Week, IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria, 21–25 November. Commissioning of the AgriServe Building by AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina, IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria, 25 November. 7th International Nitrogen Initiative Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 4–8 December. More details available here.
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Africa RISING showcases improved agricultural technologies at “Nane Nane” agricultural fair in Tanzania
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mproved agricultural technologies by the IITA-led Africa RISING project attracted lots of attention and even won awards at the recently concluded nane nane agricultural fairs held in Arusha, Morogoro and Dodoma, Tanzania. The nane nane agricultural fairs are held in different cities in Tanzania annually to recognize the important contribution of farmers to the national Tanzanian economy. The fairs which are usually very well attended are also aimed at promoting the uptake of innovative agricultural interventions. This year’s events took place from 1 to10 August. Technologies exhibited by the Africa RISING team in both venues were on the following broad areas: crop management efficiency (mineral fertilizer application); improved seed varieties; maize lethal necrosis management; forages for livestock feed and landscape conservation; vegetable integration for dietary diversification and income generation; post-harvest, nutrition and mycotoxin management; and mechanization technologies (for maize shelling and livestock fodder preparation). Participants and organizers of the events ranked the Africa RISING exhibition pavilion in Dodoma as the best overall during the week-long event. Over 1,918 farmers and stakeholders visited the booths and got the chance to learn about technologies and research activities that the projects implement within the country.
Festo Ngulu, Africa RISING Babati coordinator noting down information given by Paskali, a farmer from Mananga village-Babati who was interested to be engaged in project’s activities and ready to offer a plot of land for demonstration activities in his village.
of Labour, Employment and Youth Development, Anthony Mavunde, when he visited the Africa RISING booth. Farmers, who were the main target audience during the agricultural fair, were impressed by different improved agricultural technologies on display at the Africa RISING booth.
“This machine can really help in significantly improving the health of young babies in my village!” said Monica Michael, a farmer from “I am impressed by what Africa RISING Kigugu village in Morogoro after seeing is doing in engaging farmers and other a demonstration of the flour fortification stakeholders in the semi-Arid areas of machine being promoted by Africa RISING. central Tanzania to resolve their crops and livestock production challenges in a Sarah Mwakimi, another farmer from participatory manner. This approach will Arumeru in Arusha was on the other hand make improved agricultural technologies to very intrigued by the motorized maize get disseminated quicker to many farmers shelling machine. “I need to get this who attend to nane nane exhibitions,” machine; it will simplify for me the huge noted the Deputy Minister for the Ministry task of maize shelling. All children are
Ali, a beneficiary farmer from Matufa village-Babati demonstrates how the forage chopper machine operates.
IITA Bulletin 2340
away from home, I always experience challenges during shelling as the casual labors are drunkards and usually disappear for days when they get their first pay,” she noted. The exhibition team also took the opportunity to create awareness about aflatoxin contamination and how the Aflasafe technology can be applied to stop contamination. This activity especially drew special attention from the farmers after a recent incident where 14 persons died in Dodoma region due to aflatoxin poisoning. This is the second year in which the Africa RISING project team has held exhibitions at the event. The team intends to continue taking part in future agricultural fairs as a means of scaling out new and improved agricultural technologies and knowledge to farmers in Tanzania.
Mr Anthony Mavunde - Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Youth Development signing the visitors book at the Africa RISING exhibition booth during the 2016 Nane Nane agricultural show in Nzuguni, Dodoma.
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STMA trains partners in Ibadan
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4-day training on Conduct and Management of Field Trials and Seed Production of Open-pollinated and Hybrid Varieties was held 15-19 August, at IITA, Ibadan for representatives from the Anglophone partner countries of the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) Project. The training aimed at upgrading the technical capabilities and skills of field technicians, seed specialists of public institutions, and production managers of seed companies in the Conduct and Management of Field Trials and the Techniques of Quality Maize Seed Michael Abberton addresses participants during the training course. production, particularly hybrid seed. Michael Abberton, IITA Deputy Director, Meseka, IITA Maize breeder; Adegoke Research for Development West Africa, Adepoju, International Trials Manager; During the training, the participants from welcomed the participants, and wished and Profs M.A.B. Fakorede, Sola Ajayi, Ghana and Nigeria were briefed on the them a successful course. He went on to and Adebayo Akinola of the Obafemi major achievements of the Drought highlight the importance of maize and of Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) Project seed systems as a key component of the which has now metamorphosed to value chain. Copies of a new publication by IITA maize STMA. DTMA witnessed the release of scientists on the Conduct and Management more than 230 maize hybrid varieties “Maize is not only a major food crop, of Maize Field Trials, Strategies for and open-pollinated varieties possessing and important for food security, but also Sustainable Maize Seed Production in drought tolerance and other desirable it is used as a key input in animal feed West and Central Africa, and Building traits. It also produced enough seeds industries, and local brewing. The crop Partnerships and Encouraging Innovation to benefit over 5.7 million households has become a major source of household for Sustainable Maize Production were representing nearly 45 million people in incomes and provides employment to distributed to the course participants. 2014 alone. input dealers, and other auxiliary services At the end of the training course, Prof providers,” Abberton stated. Speaking at the training, Baffour BaduFakorede, counseled the participants Apraku, an IITA Maize breeder, explained A total of 30 participants from Ghana to use what they had benefited that the training was necessary to instill a (10) and Nigeria (20), including four wisely. Certificates were issued to the better understanding of the demands of women, took part in the course. participants after the training course. the STMA procedures to participants. “… Course presentations were in the form What we teach them during the training of lectures, demonstrations, practical The STMA project is coordinated by course, is very important, 40% of the sessions, and assignments. Resource the International Maize and Wheat course time will be devoted to hands- persons for the course comprised Baffour Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and IITA. on experience. This will ensure a full Badu-A.praku, the course coordinator, It is funded by the Gates Foundation and understanding of maize variety testing Tahirou Abdoulaye, Outcome/Impact the United States Agency for International and seed production,” Badu-Apraku said. Socioeconomist for West Africa; Silvestro Development, (USAID).
Leuven University seeks partnership with IITA in research programs
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ITA hosted a team from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium (also known as KU Lueven) at its campus in Ibadan, Nigeria. The team led by Professor Georges Gielen, the Vice Rector of the University, was at the Institute to explore ways to expand and strengthen collaboration with IITA in research programs and projects to deliver more outcomes.
During the meeting Gielen gave a brief background of KU Leuven which he termed as Europe’s most renowned research university with its mission of excellence in research. “The university has created a number of spin-off companies involved in
diverse research programs which should be of interest to IITA” he said. The University is seeking to partner with IITA in agro-food production, processing, and linking nutrition and health, among others.
He was accompanied by his colleagues at the university- Bart Nicolai, Nadie Buys and Karen Vancampenhout. The visit took place 22–23 August. The team met and held discussions with IITA’s scientists and research fellows from different fields as the first steps towards A delegate from Leuven University addresses participants. developing closer collaborations. Got a story to share? Please email it with photos and captions every Wednesday to Katherine Lopez (k.lopez@cgiar.org), Jeffrey T. Oliver (j.oliver@cgiar.org), Catherine Njuguna (c.njuguna@cgiar.org), or Adaobi Umeokoro (a.umeokoro@cgiar.org).
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