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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
THIS!JAY, Vol 15,_No. 5392, Page 37
Agric
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IITA to End Aflatoxin Contamination in Africa he International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (llTA) has said that it is determined to end the aflatoxin contamination in foods in Africa. The Institute said, in a statement to TIllS DAY, that developing countries lose billions of dollars in trade annually to aflatoxin contamination of foods, adding that the contamination endangers the health of millions of people in the region. It (institute) said the good news is that UTA has developed a bio-control product (allasafe) to tackle this prob-
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By Crusoe Osagie lem. A plant pathologist Ranai it Bandyophadhay said that the bio-control is on a toxin found on maize and peanuts called allatoxins, saying that the toxin causes a lot of hann to people's health and also makes farmers sell their products at lower prices. "The losses are both in terms of health and trade. What I am trying to do is to manage the allatoxins using a holistic approach, such as using resistant varieties. bener
crop management practices. and also the biological control method. He said the unique thing about the bio-eontrol product is the natural resources from Nigeria to manage an economic and medical problem. "We are making use of nontoxic fungi to eliminate the hartnful fungi", he stressed, adding that Aflatoltins are hartnful chemicals that are produced by a fungus called Aspergillus flavus . Bandyophadbay said th at the fungi produce toxins in maize, peanuts, and generally grains . "When people eat them, it harms them and caus-
es diseases such as liver cancer and kwashiorkor, among others. Worst still, farmers cannot sell their products at the premium price", he stated. He added that the bio-control is one of the strongest components of the holistic approach to tackle the contamination. ''If we can take the bio-eontrol approach adopted by farmers, most of the problems concerning aflatoxins. which they face during postharvest , will be greatly reduced. We actually started with good science and that science has given birth to a new product which the farmers are
Haiti: Farmers to Kick-start Post-earthquake Rehabilitation ood and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-General, Jacques Diouf, has said that wi th the flfSt stage of Haiti's rescue operation now underway, the country and the aid effort should simultaneously move to the urgent support of food production , agricultural rehabiljtation and reconstruction. Haitian farmers must be given immediate support before the spring planting season begins in March, said Diouf. Haiti's consumption of cereals is estimated at around one million tonnes, of which about 63 per cent are imported. ''111e priority is to supply them with seeds, fertilisers, livestock feed and artimal vaccines as well as agriCUltural tools," he said. It is of vital importaqce to boost local production programmes of quality seeds, prepare fertilisers suitable for Haiti's various production zones and crops. "Il is urgent that we do tJtis in the light of thousands of people fleeing the devastated capital Port-au-Prince for the rural areas and food prices rising,'" said Diouf. "These pe0ple will need to be provided with the necessary means to survive and be provided with an income generating activity," he added. . An estimated 53 per cent of Haiti's population live in rural areas and 47 per cent are urban. The spring planting season that lasts until May, accounts for 60 per cent of Haiti's national agricultural production. With vital agricullUral infrastructure sucb as storage facilities and irrigation canals damaged , Haitian farmers will need all the help they can get for the upcoming season . FAO has $49 million worth of programmes to increase food production in Haiti made possible by a variety of donors including the European Union, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Bank , France , Canada, Spain, Austria, Brazil and Belgium . The programmes include the multiplication and distribution of suitable high quality seeds and seedlings that poor fanners can rel1. on as well as the distributioll'" of ~rtilis~ and tools. Government and FAO programmes in Haiti last year helped boost national agricultural production by 15路 per cent and brought down路 the number of malnourished Haitian s ~ . Food ~ pr-ices.are ri s.. 路
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jng in Port-au-Prince and e lsewhere because of food and fuel shortages, damage to the supply chain, warehouses and the port, threatening sur-
vi val of the poor all over Haiti. ' The earthquake hit the west and the south of Haiti but the catastrophe is national."
said Diouf. "To prevent this urban disaster becoming a
rupU traged'y as well, it is crucial that we save the upcoming planting season.'
willing to use". He said the new product, aflasafe, will help farmers boost their agricultural praduce saying that when farmers use the product on their farms , they would produce grains that are free from allatoxins. He also added that challenge faced by the introduction of the product was developing the product itself and said that a fresh challenge is how to get a large manufacturing firm to begin massive production. advocacy, and awareness so that it gets to the farmers. "We made a presentation to the Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, and he was so excited about the product. We also did a field deployment and the farmers were also very happy about it," he said According to him, the Institute has worked with
many orgartisations and pe0ple, which he named as the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), National Agency for FOod and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), farmers, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Agency for International Development (USAID), Prof Peter Cotty, Dr Joseph Atehnkeng, and several others. "Every partner is a unique entity but one thing important is to build trust. Once that is done , the partnership gets smooth," he said. " My future plan is to get dtis product used on at least one million hect:ares. I intend to put all my efforts to see that dtis product is used for the benefit of the farmers in general and women and children, who are more vulnerable to allatoxins," he added.
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