It’s quite disturbing because of the growing impact of Aflatoxins on human health and the economy yet we all have a role to play in reducing the Aflatoxins in foods and their impacts. According to FAO, the biggest and best-known health effect of aflatoxin is liver cancer whereby globally, about 782,200 new cases of liver cancer occur yearly, and 83% (648,200) of them occur in developing countries, Uganda not being in Isolation.
Additionally, the country loses USD 577 million annually as a result of about 3700 aflatoxin-induced liver cancer cases. (https://www.fao.org/uganda/news/detail-events/fr/c/1628194/). These are just a pinch of Aflatoxin impacts on both the health and the economy of Uganda. Partially it’s because we as Ugandans have not done enough together with responsible stakeholders. Although much emphasis has been put on the science of Aflatoxins which has made it difficult to understand, there’s a need to understand there are several contributing factors for the rising cases of aflatoxins in Uganda i.e.:
The moral decay of society contributes to increased cases of Aflatoxins: Adherence to existing standards is still an enormous challenge. Some actors, knowing the Aflatoxin concern, still chose to for example harvest maize before drying properly and do not take time to dry it while at the stores. Actually, middlemen have resorted to buying maize directly from the garden before fully drying. Farmers are given quick cash as long as they accept a reduction in the amount they are paid per kilogram to save them from the burden of drying. Unfortunately, middlemen do not equally take time to dry the maize and other grains properly so as not to reduce weight but well knowing that storing improper dried products may provide a favourable environment for mycotoxins. The responsible ministries and enforcement agencies need to rise up to the occasion otherwise a lot is still being done.
Aflatoxins and poverty Inseparable: Looking at Schools, parents that do not have money deliver maize flour and groundnut paste to schools in exchange for payment of school dues. Many of these parents harvest undried products, and while at school, some schools do not invest enough in storage facilities so you find a number of them leaking, etc. which creates room for the growth and emergence of mycotoxins. Looking at consumption, it’s commonly the poor that prefer cheaper groundnut paste, maize and other flours, people would prefer paying less. The majority of the cheaply sold groundnut paste and flours are stored in markets for months and then sold cheaply. Sadly, each day, the seller simply tops up on the left paste to fill in the newly processed one. We need to stand up to the occasion and ensure the enforcement of existing regulations.
Population growth rate an immediate relative to the rising aflatoxin cases: The current Ugandan population is a 48million people which grew by almost 3% from last year’s population as per the World Bank, This has resulted in increased demand for locally produced foods especially grains and their products and definitely. Unfortunately, many farmers do not have the patience to wait for the proper drying of their grains backed up by poor storage. This increased demand has also resulted in mushrooming unlicensed, unmonitored and uncontrolled processing facilities which are unfortunately breeding places for aflatoxins. A visit to many processing facilities in Kisenyi a Kampala suburb would shock you.
Much as we have each one contributed to the rising aflatoxins and related cases, we can do a number of things that range from localized awareness of aflatoxins and their effects, fight Corruption, embezzlement of funds intended to support farmer, put in place adequate enforcement of standards by required bodies, revision of Non Trade Barriers for example trucks of maize and other grains spend weeks at border points amidst poor storage and rainy weather, this needs urgent revision, government needs to set up and enforce a Quality Management Systems, involving farmers, handlers and traders strongly recommended for effective control of Aflatoxins, encourage Good Agricultural Practices, Good Storage Practices, Good Hygienic Practices, Good manufacturing Practices, set up a consumer protection law in Uganda because eexisting regulations have left the consumers helpless, especially at a time when there is increasing cases of aflatoxin related liver cancer cases, Capacity building of the actors to address the institutional regulatory gaps.
By Ajuna Tadeo
Specialist at Uganda Agribusiness Alliance (UAA)
