Breaking the Mold: New Strategies for Fighting Aflatoxins
Breaking the Mold: New Strategies for Fighting Aflatoxins
To develop country-specific Aflasafe products, Bandyopadhyay and Cotty start with a collection of 5,000 strains obtained from widely distributed crop samples in each country. They use a series of selection criteria to narrow the number to roughly a dozen nontoxic strains, each screened for genetic stability, the ability to colonize target crops, and persistence in the field. Screening also ensures the strains have defects in one or more genes associated with aflatoxin production, Bandyopadhyay says. Ultimately they select four local atoxigenic strains to go in each customized product.
Citing evidence gathered during IITA field studies in Nigeria, Bandyopadhyay claims the biocontrol method can reduce aflatoxin contamination in corn and groundnuts by 80–90%, in some cases even as much as 99%. He adds that IITA is now working with a variety of partners to promote biocontrol in Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, and Burkina Faso, with plans to expand into several East African countries over the coming three years. Likewise, the USDA and IITA have a pilot program investigating Aflasafe uses in Kenya that's been running for nearly three years, according to Nelson.
But the main challenge, Bandyopadhyay says, is convincing local farmers that biocontrol is worth the investment. "How do you sell something that has a hidden benefit?" he asks. "The problem with aflatoxin is that you can't see it. And unless the levels are very high, the expression of health impacts isn't immediately obvious. For instance, it can take decades to develop cancer." Still during an unpublished willingness-to-pay study conducted in Nigeria, Bandyopadhyay says IITA researchers found that when informed of aflatoxins' health risks and the economic benefits of control, 82% of farmers queried said they'd pay US$12–15 per hectare for biocontrol treatments.
Three years ago, a World Bank–funded agriculture development project purchased 8 tons of Aflasafe for distribution in Nigeria and covered 50% of the out-of-pocket cost for farmers who purchased it. According to Bandyopadhyay, the project lowered that subsidy to 25% the next year and eliminated it completely in 2013. Meanwhile, aid groups and governments are experimenting with other incentives, such as bundling Aflasafe into technical packages that also include better seed, fertilizer, and pest controls. "That's one way to jumpstart economic demand," explains Cardwell.
Now, under a subcontract to the Meridian Institute, IITA is building a demonstration-scale manufacturing facility on its own campus that will produce 5 tons of Aflasafe an hour, enough to cover 4,000 hectares a day. According to Bandyopadhyay, the overall goal of that effort is to enable manufacturers to produce enough Aflasafe to treat a million hectares in Africa within the next few years and reduce aflatoxin contamination in those areas by 90%.
Building Biocontrols
To develop country-specific Aflasafe products, Bandyopadhyay and Cotty start with a collection of 5,000 strains obtained from widely distributed crop samples in each country. They use a series of selection criteria to narrow the number to roughly a dozen nontoxic strains, each screened for genetic stability, the ability to colonize target crops, and persistence in the field. Screening also ensures the strains have defects in one or more genes associated with aflatoxin production, Bandyopadhyay says. Ultimately they select four local atoxigenic strains to go in each customized product.
Citing evidence gathered during IITA field studies in Nigeria, Bandyopadhyay claims the biocontrol method can reduce aflatoxin contamination in corn and groundnuts by 80–90%, in some cases even as much as 99%. He adds that IITA is now working with a variety of partners to promote biocontrol in Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, and Burkina Faso, with plans to expand into several East African countries over the coming three years. Likewise, the USDA and IITA have a pilot program investigating Aflasafe uses in Kenya that's been running for nearly three years, according to Nelson.
But the main challenge, Bandyopadhyay says, is convincing local farmers that biocontrol is worth the investment. "How do you sell something that has a hidden benefit?" he asks. "The problem with aflatoxin is that you can't see it. And unless the levels are very high, the expression of health impacts isn't immediately obvious. For instance, it can take decades to develop cancer." Still during an unpublished willingness-to-pay study conducted in Nigeria, Bandyopadhyay says IITA researchers found that when informed of aflatoxins' health risks and the economic benefits of control, 82% of farmers queried said they'd pay US$12–15 per hectare for biocontrol treatments.
Three years ago, a World Bank–funded agriculture development project purchased 8 tons of Aflasafe for distribution in Nigeria and covered 50% of the out-of-pocket cost for farmers who purchased it. According to Bandyopadhyay, the project lowered that subsidy to 25% the next year and eliminated it completely in 2013. Meanwhile, aid groups and governments are experimenting with other incentives, such as bundling Aflasafe into technical packages that also include better seed, fertilizer, and pest controls. "That's one way to jumpstart economic demand," explains Cardwell.
Now, under a subcontract to the Meridian Institute, IITA is building a demonstration-scale manufacturing facility on its own campus that will produce 5 tons of Aflasafe an hour, enough to cover 4,000 hectares a day. According to Bandyopadhyay, the overall goal of that effort is to enable manufacturers to produce enough Aflasafe to treat a million hectares in Africa within the next few years and reduce aflatoxin contamination in those areas by 90%.