We at IITA’s Aflasafe Technology Transfer and Commercialisation initiative (ATTC) continue our steadfast commitment to food safety in Africa, in deeds and dialogues, and in concert with the African Union’s Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA).
Following a jointly hosted successful food-safety side event in September last year at the African Green Revolution Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, ATTC’s next continental stop was at the 3rd PACA Partnership Platform Meeting in Dakar, Senegal. Held from 2nd to 4th October, the event’s theme was Scaling-up country led approaches for sustainable aflatoxin mitigation in Africa. It brought together policymakers, the private sector, agricultural research institutions, development partners, government representatives and a host of others to evaluate the current status of aflatoxin control across the continent.
In line with the meeting theme, ATTC hosted a side event entitled Scaling aflatoxin mitigation technologies and strategies: Lessons from the field where key lessons and observations from ATTC were shared with a cross-section of participants. In his opening remarks, the event moderator Dr Seydou Samake, the USDA and USAID Regional Sanitary and Phytosanitary Advisor for West Africa, noted that it was time to go beyond talking about the dangers of aflatoxin to practical ways in which actors within the food and agribusiness landscape can scale up technologies that are helping solve this challenge.
Sharing their experiences and perspectives on the opportunities and challenges for scaling technologies such as Aflasafe, partners and collaborators currently working with IITA on scaling out Aflasafe highlighted critical issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve production and utilisation of aflatoxin-mitigating technologies at scale. Emphasising the importance of market actors as engines for stimulating demand for such technologies, Mr Mustapha Colley, a Senior Manager with The Gambia’s National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation (NFSPMC) observed how the company’s premium pricing policy was driving the use of Aflasafe by groundnut farmers in The Gambia . “Because farmers were assured of a better price for Aflasafe-treated aflatoxin-safe groundnuts, Aflasafe use has increased significantly over the last three years,” he revealed. Private sector partners, BAMTAARE SA (Senegal) and Harvestfield Industries Limited (Nigeria), underscored the importance for agricultural research institutions working on solutions to the problem to partner with private-sector actors with the capacity to scale up commercial production of such technologies, thereby making them readily available to farmers across the continent.
The focus on Aflasafe as a good illustrative example of how cross-sectoral partnerships are helping to effectively scale aflatoxin-mitigating technologies was not limited to the ATTC side event. Our private sector partner in Senegal – BAMTAARE SA (Base d’Appui aux Méthodes et Techniques pour l’Agriculture, les autres Activités Rurales et l’Environnement) – was on the ground to showcase the product and interact with other actors who were interested in learning more about Aflasafe.
There were many noteworthy moments at the 3rd PACA PPM but probably the most remarkable was the announcement of a CFA 2 billion (USD 3.4 million) fund to PACA by the government of Senegal to support the AU’s ongoing work on to address the aflatoxin challenge in Senegal.
This clearly demonstrates the government’s commitment to conquer the scourge of aflatoxin, completing the circle of actors from the public and private sectors, and research and development, all committed to combat aflatoxin in a joint effort. ATTC is pleased and privileged to be in this circle.
LINKS
- Farmer and consumer voices on Aflasafe, beyond beating aflatoxin in food in The Gambia
- Business unusual in Senegal with aflatoxin-beating Aflasafe SN01: health trumps profit
- Latest strides in Senegal and The Gambia in commercialising Aflasafe – one user’s experience
- Food safety at the forefront of Africa’s green revolution – bad food is no good and no food
- Technology leap for Senegal and The Gambia to combat aflatoxin in food
- News story, PACA PPM: Africa loses $700m to Aflatoxin — AU chair
- News story, Senegal : Boun Abdallah annonce la construction d’une unité pour lutter contre les aflatoxines
- AU, WHO, FAO Food safety conferences in February and April 2019
