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    Incidence and farmers' knowledge of aflatoxin contamination and control in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

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    Journal Article (733.8Kb)
    Date
    2018-09
    Author
    Udomkun, P.
    Assfaw Wossen, T.
    Nabahungu, N.L.
    Mutegi, C.
    Vanlauwe, B.
    Bandyopadhyay, R.
    Type
    Journal Article
    Review Status
    Peer Review
    Target Audience
    Scientists
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract/Description
    Despite efforts to reduce aflatoxin contamination and associated mycotoxin poisoning, the phenomenon continues to pose a public health threat in food and feed commodity chains. In this study, 300 samples of cassava, maize, and groundnut were collected from farmers’ households in Eastern DRC and analyzed for incidence of aflatoxins. In addition, the farmers’ level of knowledge of the causes and consequences of contamination and the measures for prevention were also examined by administering questionnaires to a cross section of 150 farmers. The results showed the presence of aflatoxins in all samples, with levels ranging from 1.6 to 2,270 μg/kg. In 68% of all samples, total aflatoxin contamination was above 4 μg/kg, the maximum tolerable level set by the European Union. Farmers ranked high humidity, improper storage practices, and poor soils as potential causes of aflatoxin contamination and changes in color, smell, and taste, and difficulty in selling crops as consequences. They identified crop management practices as the most effective way to control contamination. The results also revealed that most farmers apply preharvest crop management practices as a means of controlling contamination. More educated households were more knowledgeable about aflatoxins. Female‐headed and married households were less likely to be willing to pay for aflatoxin control. About 28% of farmers claimed to be willing to allocate resources to seed intervention while a smaller proportion agreed to pay for training and information services. The result further suggests that an adoption of pre‐ and postharvest technologies together with awareness creation is still required to reduce aflatoxin contamination in the country.
    https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.735
    Multi standard citation
    Permanent link to this item
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/7600
    IITA Authors ORCID
    Patchimaporn Udomkunhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0115-1997
    Tesfamicheal Wossen Assfawhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3672-2676
    Nsharwasi Nabahunguhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2104-3777
    Charity Mutegihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3188-0480
    bernard vanlauwehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6016-6027
    Ranajit Bandyopadhyayhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2422-4298
    Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
    https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.735
    Research Themes
    Nutrition and Human Health; Plant Production and Health
    IITA Subjects
    Aflatoxin; Agronomy; Disease Control; Food Security; Plant Breeding; Plant Production; Smallholder Farmers
    Agrovoc Terms
    Aflatoxins; Contamination; Farmers; Awareness Raising; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Knowledge
    Regions
    Africa; Central Africa
    Countries
    Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Hubs
    Central Africa Hub
    Journals
    Food Science & Nutrition
    Collections
    • Journal and Journal Articles5078
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