Groundnuts too get aflatoxin, farmers told at food safety training
Groundnuts farmers during training in Homa Bay on aflatoxin control and management.
Every June 7, the global population joins hands in marking the World Food Safety Day as a way of raising awareness on food safety, including its importance and the need for an all-inclusive engagement towards enhancing the same.
In Kenya, food safety has often been compromised by issues such as aflatoxins, irresponsible use of pesticides and poor hygiene among others.
As part of marking the World Food Safety Day this year, 300 groundnuts farmers from Homa Bay, Siaya and Busia counties will benefit from training on aflatoxin control and management.
The trainings are geared towards equipping farmers with knowledge and skills on preventing and managing aflatoxin to ensure they produce safe produce for their own consumption as well as for sale.
Farmers look at aflasafe, a biopesticide used to control aflatoxins.
Aflatoxins
In Homa Bay where the training has already kicked off, farmers who have been producing groundnuts confessed to only associating aflatoxins with maize.
“I am now more knowledgeable on how to produce safe groundnuts which will fetch better prices locally and maybe export the produce some day,” said Ms Eunice Achieng’, a farmer from Homa Bay East.
Although she has heard about aflatoxins mostly from news outlets, Ms Achieng’ said she often associated it with maize.
Mr Samuel Atito, another farmer, expressed shock after learning that livestock too get affected by aflatoxin, thus passing the same to humans.
Mr Atito said he had been feeding his cows, goats and poultry with rotten grains, oblivious of the fact that they could be infected with aflatoxin.
“I also used to dry groundnuts on bare ground. Little did I know that I was exposing them to soil which could be contaminated,” noted Mr Atito who hails from Rangwe.
Many farmers, according to experts, lack ample knowledge on not only aflatoxins, but other aspects of food safety.
Ms Asha Bakari, a food safety expert who is also the trainer for the three counties, noted that farmers need to know good agricultural practices, facts and myths about aflatoxins.
Ms Asha Bakari, a food safety expert and a trainer, speaks to groundnut farmers during a training in Homa Bay.
Invisible, tasteless
Contrary to popular belief, it is not possible to see or taste aflatoxins.
Aflatoxin is a natural poison that is produced by a group of fungus which is commonly referred to as aspergillus. The most common fungus that produces aflatoxin is called Aspergillus flavus.
Many farmers mistake discoloration in groundnuts, maize or other crop commodities as evidence of aflatoxin infection. However, this is an indication of the fungus but not the poison.
Ms Bakari is among experts working under the Market Access Upgrade Program (Markup) Kenya, which is supported by the European Union, and which aims to promote food safety and market access for selected produce locally, regionally and internationally.
Markup Kenya is implemented by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) in partnership with the government and private sector.
“Among other interventions geared towards promoting food safety that Markup Kenya is undertaking include the ongoing pesticides use awareness campaign and the recently launched aflatoxins management awareness campaign,” said Ms Christine Misiko, the Knowledge Management Expert at Markup Kenya.
Invisible. All these maize and groundnuts samples have some level of aflatoxins.
Aflatoxins control strategy
The programme also spearheaded development of aflatoxins management and control strategy with guidelines and standards operating procedures at farm, regulators, processors and consumer levels.
Markup Kenya also trained 15 officers from various government agencies who will in turn build capacity within their respective agencies and train a range of stakeholders including producers, extension agents, regulators and traders.
In partnership with the Agriculture and Food Authority, Markup Kenya developed rules and regulations of an integrated traceability system from farm to fork along critical points.
This year, the World Food Safety theme is ‘Safer Food, Better Health’ and seeks to highlight the role of safe and nutritional food in enhancing human health and well- being. It calls for particular actions to make food safer.
