Aflatoxin Stakeholder Workshop, TFDA and Abt AssociatesDecember 3-4, Dar es Salaam Tanzania

Aflasafe in Africa: progress and prospects

for biocontrol in aflatoxin mitigation

R Bandyopadhyay, J Atehnkeng, J Augusto, F Beed, T Dubois, C Mutegi, S Boniface, V ManyongInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

D CassidyUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID)

P CottyUniversity of Arizona/USDA-ARS

O Hasson, P WarriorBill & Melinda Gates Foundation

K MashaDoreo Partners

M McDaniel, J SandahlUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA-FAS)

J MignounaAfrican Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF)

Perfect aflatoxin storm in sub-Saharan Africa

susceptible crops

susceptible climate

suboptimal production

systems

35o N & S

Kenya

district samples total aflatoxin levels (ppb)

<20 21-99 100-1,000 >1,000

Makueni 91 35 13 40 12

Kitui 73 38 21 32 10

Machakos 102 49 25 23 3

Thika 76 66 17 13 4

Total 342 47% 19% 27% 7%

Aflatoxin levels in the market

CDC and Kenyan Ministry of Health 2004

B1 B2 G1 G2 total

mean 50.0 ppb 7.8 ppb 14.6 ppb 3.9 ppb 76.3 ppb

range 0–519 ppb 0–93 ppb 0–137 ppb 0–65 ppb

Mozambique Ministry of Health 2004

Mozambique

Human health effects in Africa

acuteacute hepatic necrosis, cirrhosis, carcinoma

chroniccarcinogenicanti-nutritionalimmune-suppressive

BBC 2004, Gong et al 2004, NIEHS 2010

underreported

unknown

Animal health effects in Africa

40% reduction in live weight (8 weeks)

aflatoxin-free diet

aflatoxin diet (500 ppb)

aflatoxin-free diet

aflatoxin diet (500 ppb)

aflatoxin level (ppb)

samples

< 20 (safe) 38 %

20 – 100 14 %

100 – 500 41 %

500 - 1000 7 %

aflatoxin levels in broiler feeds in Nigeria

IITA unpublished

Effect on trade

EC 2007

Malawi, Nigeria and Senegal groundnut exports to Europe decimated

Species/strain B aflatoxin (B1, B2) G aflatoxin (G1, G2)

A. flavus ‘L-strains’ +/- -

A. flavus ‘S-strains’ + -

A. flavus ‘SBG strains’ + +

A.Xparasiticus + +

A.Xnomius + +

A.xtamarii - -

Biocontrol of aflatoxins: principle

“competitive exclusion principle”:

field application of atoxigenic L strain that outcompetes the toxigenic ones

shift fungal community from toxigenic to atoxigenic

inci

den

ce

of

tox

ige

nic

str

ain

s (

%) 100

75

50

25

0

natural biocontrol

atox

tox

From Southern USA…

Registered and commercialized since 2004 in the US on maize, cotton, pistachio as AF36 and Aflaguard (Syngenta)

AF36 in Arizona: 590 ton in 2012 82,000 ha cotton and 100,000 ha pistachio in 2012

Routine agronomic practice across counties effective and carry-over in multiple crops over multiple years in various cropping systems

AF36 manufacturing facilityArizona Cotton Research & Protection Council

… to Africa

Nigeria2003

Senegal 2007

Burkina Faso 2009

Kenya 2004

Zambia 2011

Tanzania 2012

Mozambique 2013

Ghana 2013

biocontrol local field local production commercialization strain partners testing capacity distribution awareness

biocontrol local field strain partners testing

biocontrol local field strain partners testing

biocontrol local field strain partners testing

biocontrol localstrain partners

biocontrol localstrain partners

Mali 2013

Strain selection prior to field testing

isolation

toxin analysis genetic profiling (SSR)

sequencing (aflatoxin and CPA)

VCG profiling

competition bioassays

step 1 step 2 step 3

Pre-field selection criteria

does not produce aflatoxin

can genetically not produce aflatoxin

can genetically not produce CPA

outcompetes toxigenic strains

belongs to different clonal lineages (SSR)

VCG with wide geographic distribution in country

VCG does not contain a single toxigenic member

~12 native strains are tested in the field

Selection of 4 strains

selection criteria:

superior aflatoxin reduction

superior capacity to outcompete toxigenic ones

www.iita.org

4 native strains formulated into a registered product: 10 kg ha-1

village fields aflatoxin conc (ng/g) reductionAflasafe control

Diourbel 19 1.9 29.7 93%Nioro 19 4.4 17.6 75%Mean 87%

B-aflatoxin reduction in maize at harvest, Senegal (2010)

village fields aflatoxin conc (ng/g) reductionAflasafe control

Maigana 22 17 646 99%Pampaida 10 9 171 95%Lere 9 49 271 82%Birnin 10 14 96 85%Mean 90%

B-aflatoxin reduction in maize at storage, Nigeria (2010)

IITA unpublished

Performance of Aflasafe in farmers’ fields

Aflasafe plant in Nigeria

Develop cheaper, more effective formulations and manufacturing methods compatible with Africa that can be transferred to private sector

5 t h-1

strains: regional strains (PACA)

manufacturing: regional hubs

registration: regional protocols

Aflasafe-Nigeria

Aflasafe-Senegal

Aflasafe-Kenya

Aflasafe-Zambia

Aflasafe-Mozambique

Aflasafe-West

Aflasafe-East

Aflasafe-South

Regionalization

animal breeders

export-oriented aggregators

food processors

large commercial farmers

smallholder farmers

How to get Aflasafe to market?

incentives are present

aggregation market access

??mar

ket

dem

and

fo

r A

flas

afe

no regulation enforcement

no supply of aflatoxin-free maize

no awareness

no demand no demand for aflatoxin-for aflatoxin-free maizefree maize

AATFAbt AssociatesACDI/VOCAADAAg Dev Program, NigeriaAfrican UnionAnimal Care, NigeriaBill & Melinda Gates FoundationCOMESACrop Research Institute, GhanaDalberg AssociatesDoreo PartnersDPV, SenegalECOWASElephant Vert, MaroccoFEPASO, Burkina FasoGovernment of MozambiqueGIZICRISATIFA-Tulln, AustriaIFARINERA, Burkina FasoKARI, Kenya

KEPHIS, Kenya

KNUST, Ghana

Livestock Feed PLC, Nigeria

Maize Association of Nigeria

Manufacturers Association of Nigeria

Maslaha Seeds, Nigeria

Meridien Institute

Mikocheni, Tanzania

Millennium Village Program, Nigeria

Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya

Ministry of Agriculture, Tanzania

Ministry of Health, Nigeria

NAFDAC, Nigeria

NEARLS, Nigeria

NEPAD Business Group

Nestle

Nigerian Economic Summit Group

Nigerian Export Promotion Council

Asante sana:

Nigerian Mycotoxin Society

NISIR, Zambia

Obasanjo Farms, Nigeria

PASO, Burkina Faso

PCPB, Kenya

PQPS, Zambia

Sokoine University, Tanzania

Sylvain Bio, France

TFDA

TPRI

UNIDO

Université G Berger, Senegal

University of Arizona, USA

University of Ibadan, Nigeria

University of Bonn, Germany

USAID

USDA-ARS

USDA-FAS

US Embassy, Kenya

ZARI, Zambia

… and of course the farmers