International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) says it has moved in to safeguard farmers’ livelihoods and boost foreign exchange earnings through the introduction of a biological solution that reduces aflatoxin levels by up to 90 percent.
IITA country representative Sika Gbegbelegbe said in an interview on Friday that the solution dubbed Aflasafe MW-MZ01 will help Malawi to produce crops that can enter the premium export markets in the United Kingdom and European Union without hurdles.
She said: “This fungus-fighting solution introduces non-toxic strains of aspergillus flavus that outcompete harmful variants, reducing aflatoxin levels in crops by up to 90 percent.
‘’Malawi continues to produce large volumes of crops that cannot enter premium export markets, yet in these markets, crops such as groundnuts command good prices up to seven pounds [about K17 000] per kilogramme, which is twice as high as those traded locally.”
The Anchorage Group, a key distributor of the solution in Malawi, is now spearheading efforts to promote widespread use of Aflasafe MW-MZ01 among local farmers.
The Anchorage Group chief executive officer Davy Jambo said in an interview that the economic toll of aflatoxin contamination is huge.
He cited a 2017 report from the African Union, which revealed that Malawi loses about $88 million (about K64 billion) annually due to market rejections linked to unsafe levels of aflatoxin locall and globally.
Jambo said there is a need for Malawi to adopt a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to quality assurance.
“As global markets tighten their food safety regulations, Malawi should not lag behind,” he said.
National Smallholders Farmer Association of Malawi (Nasfam) farm service officer Fannie Muwa said in an interview that the solution is important to the country’s agriculture sector, which contributes about 25 percent to the gross domestic product.
“The promotion of Aflasafe use in Malawi is a timely and positive development as it will help us support our farmers better in controlling aflatoxin right in the field so that they produce safer harvests that meet safety standards and build greater confidence among our customers,” she said.
In an interview, agricultural development policy expert Tamani Nkhono Mvula called for increased government intervention and collaboration with private sector partners to deal with the growing problem of aflatoxin.
He said there have been several situations where Malawian products have been rejected on the global market due to aflatoxin levels.
Said Nkhono-Mvula: “Nasfam used to send a lot of groundnuts to Europe, but it lost the market because of aflatoxin.
“There have been efforts to deal with the situation locally, but much is still not being done because our products are still being rejected.”
The World Bank estimates that unsafe food costs low and middle-income countries about $95 billion (about K166 trillion) annually in productivity losses.
