Groundnut Varieties Improvement for Yield and Adaptation, Human Health, and Nutrition

Pre- and post-harvest aflatoxin mitigation in groundnuts

3-4 December 2012

McKnight CCRP Groundnut Breeding and Afaltoxin Project

DRD-Naliendele Agricultural Research InstituteP.O. Box 509Mtwara, Tanzania. E-Mail mpondaomari@hotmail.com

Project Team members and locationsICRISAT NASFAM-Malawi KCH Malawi DRD-Tanzania DANISH

MANAGEMENT

E S Monyo – Breeder/Principal Investigator

B Chinyamunyamu – Principal Collaborator Economics

F Madinda – Now Lutheran Hosp. Arusha

O Mponda – Principal Collaborator Breeding

Nick Nathaniels –Communication specialist

M Siambi – Collaborator Agronomy

C Nakhumwa – Collaborator Economics

I Mwakasungula E Kafiriti – Collaborator Agronomy

S.Anitha Aflatoxin Diagnostics

S PhiriProject Technician

T Chilunjika M Sijaona – Collaborator Pathology

Wills MunthaliProject OfficerBreeding

Project Locations: Tanzania & Malawi

Crop Systems Challenges/Opportunities being Addressed

Low agricultural productivity and food insecurity.

Poor soil fertility, unreliable rainfall and diseases are major factors limiting crop productivity.

Malnutrition particularly in Children: lack of protein, oil and vitamins in a largely cereal-based diet

Poverty >half of the population

Challenges in the Project Area

• Small farm holdings 0.5 – 1.0ha

• Lack of farm machinery (only hand tools)• Fungal foliar and Plant viral Diseases

• Aflatoxin contamination

Research Hypothesis

• Improved groundnut varieties (for yield, disease and aflatoxin resistance) will stimulate farmer adoption and increase production enabling smallholder farmers to overcome

– Malnutrition – Health related ailments– Increased rural poverty– Loss of soil fertility

Major Achievements: 9 Varieties released to date

IN 2012 NEW GROUNDNUT VARIETIES IDENTIFIED FOR RELEASE IN TANZANIA

Participatory variety selection

Rural seed fairs

Afaltoxin contamination – trade and health effects

• Aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1, G2), the poisonous secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus, are one of the most frequent contaminants in several crops produced under rainfed conditions such as groundnut, maize, millets, chillies, various nuts, etc.

Toxic metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and related species in several crop species

Aflatoxin B1 is a potent toxin

It is considered as carcinogen

Aflatoxin B1

Aspergillus flavus: Aflatoxin producing mold

Aflatoxins

Economic Impact• FAO estimates 25% of world food crops affected by mycotoxins –

aflatoxin being the most notorious

• Aflatoxin causes losses to livestock and poultry producers due to reduced growth rates, low yields, feed efficiency losses

• Aflatoxin is a Barrier to trade

• Regulatory programs are costly

Countries with Permissible Limits for Total Aflatoxins in Food & Feed

Top 20 Groundnut Exporters, 2008Rank Country Quantity

(tonnes)Value (1,000 US$)

Unit value (US$/tonne)

1 India 293,128 274,154 9352 China 167,054 232,183 1,3903 USA 216,936 198,593 9154 Argentina 148,962 180,890 1,2145 Netherlands 80,287 137,390 1,7116 Nicaragua 77,973 90,058 1,1557 Brazil 44,361 50,586 1,1408 UAE 15,938 15,799 9919 South Africa 10,202 15,027 1,47310 Vietnam 14,300 13,700 95811 Paraguay 9,230 9,778 1,05912 Belgium 6,282 9,395 1,49613 Gambia 18,000 8,200 45614 Singapore 6,093 7,336 1,20415 Australia 3,984 7,254 1,82116 Bolivia 4,056 6,658 1,64217 UR of Tanzania 14,817 6,280 42418 Egypt 5,684 6,138 1,04719 Spain 3,275 5,874 1,79420 Uzbekistan 6,461 5,545 858

Source: FAOSTAT

Groundnuts Production-Tanzania

Cropped Area (2008-10 avg)

Production (2008-10 avg)

Av. Yield (2008-10 avg) (A)

Potential yield (B)

Realizable Yield (C)

Yield Gap (C-A)

million ha million tonnes Kg/Ha Kg/Ha Kg/Ha Kg/Ha

0.54 0.39 721.38 3,000 1500 778.62

Major Groundnuts production and exporting countries 2001-2007 (000’ MT )

Rank Country Production Country Export

1 China 13,936 China 700

2 India 6,870 Argentina 273

3 Nigeria 3,281 USA 192

4 USA 1,822 India 188

5 Indonesia 1,382 Netherlands 117

6 Myanmar 891 Viet Nam 63

7 Sudan 782 Nicaragua 55

8 Senegal 527 Brazil 31

9 Viet Nam 443 South Africa 26

10 Ghana 427 The Gambia 19

World Total 35,828 World total 1,894

Groundnut Aflatoxin component

Specific Objectives– ensure that the general public is knowledgeable about

aflatoxin and its effects on health• Disseminate available aflatoxin reducing technologies• Building capacity of front line staff and farmers through farmer

friendly integrated aflatoxin management packages

Factors Favorizing Aflatoxin Production

• Interactions among fungus, the host & the environment –

• Pre-harvest• Presence of A. Flavus in

the soil • insect damage

• Water stress, high temp, prolonged drought,

• Specific crop growth stages, soil fertility, high crop densities, weed competition

Post-harvest.Warm TemperatureHigh humidity-rewettingPoor storage conditionsHarvesting overly mature cropMechanical damage

Relationships between Grain contamination and Soil fungus

Fitted probabilities of contamination >4ppb as influenced by soil fungi (log (cfu)) reveal Clear relationship between grain contamination and A.flavus in the soil. (as cfu increase beyond 3000 (log(cfu)>8).

Relationships between Farmer exposure to groundnut production and grain aflatoxin contamination

Fitted probabilities of contamination >4ppb as influenced by exposure to groundnut farming (years)

Reveal that both less experienced and older farmers are more likely to produce groundnuts contaminated with aflatoxin.

Relationship between district mean growing temp and Aflatoxin contamination

Plotting the values of proportion of samples >20ppb for each district against district mean temperature revealed that groundnut contamination is to a greater extent more likely in warmer locations

Groundnut Aflatoxin workshop with traders in Mtwara

WABISOCO, MTWARA 17 June 2011

Moulds in groundnuts

Microscope view of fungi aspergillus flavus-

Aflatoxin contamination levels in groundnuts in Tanzania (ppb)

Samples 688593Mean AfB1 93 121 115

Lifecycle- 1.Aflatoxin contamination starts in the field

2.How to reduce contamination in the field –Timely harvesting is important

3. Delayed harvesting may lead to aflatoxin Contamination

4. Browning of the inner side of the pod- maturity

5.How to reduce contamination during harvest – 10% moisture level (pod ratling)

6.How to reduce contamination during drying- Dry on raised platform

7. Jute bags good for groundnut storage

8.Sorting broken kernels and mould nuts may reduce aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts

Sorting and Grading – reduced aflatoxin contamination

Joint action needed – by value chain actors

Policy makers (Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Industry, Finance, Trade, PMO, Loc GOvt),TFDA,

Adapted from Homann-Kee Tui (2010) Training/Planning Workshop Report on Establishing Small Stock Innovation Platforms, Gaborone

Research communityNARS, ICRISAT,IITA, TFNC,TBS

Input & service suppliers (incl extension, SIDO, AMCOS; Farmer groups, PvTTOSCI,ASA, NGOs)

Farmers

Traders

Processors

Supermarkets

Consumers

Exporters

Field Technology Demonstrations

Variety Resistant

Susceptible

Time of Planting Early

Late

GRD, Aflatoxin

Water Management Box Ridges

Open Ridges

Aflatoxin

Affordable Tools for Monitoring Aflatoxin Contamination

ICRISAT has developed ELISA based technologies for the detection of AFB, AFM1, FMB, OT etc. in food and feeds. And detection of AFB1-Albumin biomarker from blood

For successful mycotoxin management in food and feed, simple low-cost monitoring tools are required

Summary of researcher/communicator engagement with groundnut stakeholders 2011-12 and recent results highlights

Market traders

Small scale processors

District Council

Chairmen

District Agric

Extension

Agric Coops

Are encouraging better practices at the market through internal meetings on aflatoxin, and encouraging their suppliers to do the same.

Want to ensure all crops in go-down are mould free: have requested training

Will teach others in their networks

Have raised aflatoxin issue in Nanyumbu. and Ward Development Committee Meeting

Has sensitised AEOs and will contintue training of farmers and Agric Cooperatives

Face-to-face information meeting, 2011, brings a new understanding of mould and aflatoxin 2011

Stakeholder meetings 2011/12 for information sharing, debate, consolidating an appreciation that pre-and post-harvest actions all contribute together to addressing aflatoxin.

Time-line of NARI/Danish Management’s continuing/proposed sub-projects to support these stakeholder’s own learning/training activities, Tanzania 2012-13

Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct

Identify test

groups

New radio series

Radio series cont’d

Shooting of groundnut GAP for aflatoxin control video

Swahili aflatoxin leaflet + pretest ongoing

2012 2013

SRM

planting

Weeding/earthing up

Harvesting/grading/drying

Radio series cont’d

shelling

Edit and pretest

Dissemination, use in training, feedback & evaluation

leaflet use in training, + feedback for improvement

Improved leaflets, wider dissemination, feedback & evaluation

Radio series cont’d

Evaluation and planning for radio + interactive voice messages with TFNC

Key points of our ICMM work

1) Researchers are engaging constructively with communication media specialists and with a range of stakeholders in the groundnut sector on pre- and post-harvest control/mitigation.

2) Diverse stakeholders included in decision making of training/communication productions via feedback loops.

3) Our methodology – the informal Learning Alliance – is systematically building relationships, sharing information, encouraging joint analysis of problems and solutions that for collaboration across stakeholder groups.

4) The approach can be extended to inform higher level policy

Gender consideration in aflatoxin mitigation measures

• Groundnut is considered a women crop• Women do the planting, weeding, harvesting,

plucking, shelling ,grading for the market• There is fresh and dry groundnut value chains• Women make decision in

consumption/preparation of food (need for focused training targeting women)

Groundnut/Aflatoxin Research challenges

• Farmers have no incentive to clean grain as there is no incentive by way of price differentials. – no grades and standards (Policy)

• Capacity in aflatoxin detection at NARI and rapid testing in major groundnut producing zones at buying centres

• Mass use of polypropylene sacks by farmers and traders (policy)• Lack of specialisation in agriculture among media personnel (low

understanding/reporting in aflatoxin– degree training in communication (policy)

• Inadequate funding for groundnut /aflatoxin research• Inadequate availability and supply of improved groundnut seeds• Competition from edible oil imports – Cheap oils imports (policy)• Importation of aflatoxin free groundnuts for plumpynut processing –

Power foods

AREAS OF INTEREST TO LINKING WITH PACA

Key Proposed actions Timeline1. Capacity building for management of aflatoxin in groundnuts variety development and enabling policy environment enhanced.

2013-2015

2. Nutritional status, dietary diversity, human health and mycotoxin contamination problem spatially characterized

2013- 2015

3. Bio-control options – pre-harvest contamination :atoxigenic strains of A.flavus, post harvest contamination in stores– plant extracts, essential oils, ammonia vapour

2013-1015

4. Innovative Communication aflatoxin mitigation strategies -

2013-2015

Thank you