Aflatoxins and extension in Zambia: How AES can help support women’s strategies for reducing household exposure to aflatoxinsAlyson Young

University of Florida

Introduction• Agricultural extension services play an important role

in disseminating production information to small farmers

• Household production and nutrition benefit from increasing extension providers sensitivity to gender issues

• Women are largely ignored in extension information about aflatoxin control, which has serious consequences for household nutrition and well-being

Overview

• Introduction to aflatoxins and strategies for their control

• Zambian case study illustrating how gender roles and household labor allocation influence women’s strategies for aflatoxin control

• Discussion of the implications for improving extension service provision

What are aflatoxins?

Common fungal toxins produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus

Harmful health effects for humans and animals

Reduces the quality of grain and limits its exportation

Aflatoxin contamination levels

Maximum risk levels of acceptance for total aflatoxincontamination by different countries and organizations.

Country/Organization Maximum risk levels

European Union 4 ppb

United States 20 ppb

Japan 0 ppb

Codex Alimentarius Commission 15 ppb

How crops get contaminated

Pre harvest

• Repeated cultivation of host plants

• Late planting

• Drought

• Termite attack

• Poor field hygiene

• Plant density

• Poor water management

Harvest

• Poor harvesting technique

• Premature harvest

• Late harvest

Post harvest

• Improper drying

• Improper shelling

• Poor curing techniques

• Poor stripping

• Poor grading/sorting

• Poor storage conditions

• Poor transport

How to reduce aflatoxin contamination

Post Harvest Processor Strategies

Sorting before shelling Grading after shelling Avoid using grade-outs

Post Harvest Household Strategies

Proper shelling Proper dryingGrading and

sortingProper storage

Crop Management StrategiesEarly

plantingField

hygieneWater

harvestingSoil

amendmentsHarvest timing

Avoid pod injury

Soil removal

Eastern Province Zambia

*

*

*

Mechanical pod damage

Insect damage

Plant disease

Delays in harvest

Pod damage during harvest

Insect damage during storage

Moisture damage in storage

Wetting during shellingAgree

Disagree

Don't know

0% 50% 100%

Marks on cotyledons…

Bitter taste

White mold inside pod

Underdevelopment of roots

Staple crops…

Animal products…

Processed foods…

Store-bought…

Factors that contribute to risk

for aflatoxins

Foods commonly

contaminated by aflatoxins

Signs of aflatoxin

contamination

Aflatoxin Knowledge

Gender and Groundnut Production

0 50 100

Planting

Weeding

Harvesting

Sales/Marketing

0 50 100

Men control

production (n=10)Women control

production (n=15)

Men’s

labor

Women’s

labor

Gender, groundnuts, and aflatoxins

Control of production

Knowledge about aflatoxins and best practice

Access to services and technology

Time and energy constraints

•Timing of harvest

•Drying techniques

•Processing strategies

Education

Labor

• Knowledge about best practice

• Access to services and technology

• Timing of harvest

• Drying techniques

• Processing strategies

Impact on aflatoxin mitigation

Women’s perceptions of relative risk

Livelihood constraints

Other risks to health and

nutrition

Aflatoxin risk

Implications for extension services• Important to consider the different constraints that men

and women face when organizing and designing trainings

• Men and women may have different perceptions of risk and strategies for dealing with food and nutrition insecurity that should be taken into account during training

• Partnering with development organizations can help agricultural extension providers learn and integrate gender and nutrition into fieldwork

Additional resources• Aflatoxin timeline: http://www.icrisat.org/aflatoxin-timeline/

• Video on managing aflatoxins in groundnuts during drying and storing: https://www.accessagriculture.org/managing-aflatoxins-groundnuts-during-drying-and-storage

• Guide for extension workers on how to reduce aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts and maize: http://www.icrisat.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Aflatoxin_mannual.pdf

• Gender and nutrition sensitive training materials and tools for extension: https://ingenaes.illinois.edu/

This presentation was made possible by the generous support of the

American people through the United States Agency for International

Development, USAID. The contents are the responsibility of the

author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the

United States Government.

Thank you.