Presentation made by Francis Agbali, University of Kentucky. US
Aflatoxin contamination of grain in sub-Saharan Africa: Public health implication, application of novel postharvest technology in grain drying and the role of policy in adoption
Mutairu Ganiyu, 43, is wearing a dark brown jacket and driving a red motorcycle on the road that leads to the 150-hectare Ijaye Farm Settlement. Ganiyu and his brother Kazeem Ganiyu (see picture) have been farming corn and cassava on the site for more than 20 years.
In a shed made of wood and corrugated metal, and filled with green buckets, wooden benches and roaming chickens, Mutairu Ganiyu presents a perfectly-colored gold piece of hardened corn on the cob. This is how his corn grows, he said, when there’s not contamination. He said aflatoxin-contaminated corn may have green spores. Before Ganiyu learned about aflatoxin, he used to remove the affected kernels and give them to poultry farmers to use for chicken feed.
Now, the Ganiyu brothers use a product called Aflasafe on the corn as it grows. Aflasafe is made of sorghum covered with fungi, and growers throw the blue bead-like particles on corn in the field during the growing phase.
But even corn that’s treated while it grows can become contaminated with aflatoxin after it’s harvested. To combat this, grain needs to be dried out; many Nigerian farmers rely on the sun, and it’s not uncommon to see corn laying on tarps on the side of the road. And this solution often ends up backfiring, because the mold flourishes in Nigeria’s humid climate.
Mutairu Ganiyu, 43, is wearing a dark brown jacket and driving a red motorcycle on the road that leads to the 150-hectare Ijaye Farm Settlement. Ganiyu and his brother Kazeem Ganiyu (see picture) have been farming corn and cassava on the site for more than 20 years.In a shed made of wood and corrugated metal, and filled with green buckets, wooden benches and roaming chickens, Mutairu Ganiyu presents a perfectly-colored gold piece of hardened corn on the cob. This is how his corn grows, he said, when there’s not contamination. He said aflatoxin-contaminated corn may have green spores. Before Ganiyu learned about aflatoxin, he used to remove the affected kernels and give them to poultry farmers to use for chicken feed.
Now, the Ganiyu brothers use a product called Aflasafe on the corn as it grows. Aflasafe is made of sorghum covered with fungi, and growers throw the blue bead-like particles on corn in the field during the growing phase.
But even corn that’s treated while it grows can become contaminated with aflatoxin after it’s harvested. To combat this, grain needs to be dried out; many Nigerian farmers rely on the sun, and it’s not uncommon to see corn laying on tarps on the side of the road. And this solution often ends up backfiring, because the mold flourishes in Nigeria’s humid climate.
“Electricity is still a major issue in many parts of Africa. So if you’re running a dryer that you need to plug it into electricity for long periods of time, it’s practically almost impossible. So the only option that most farmers have is to sun dry.” Mobolaji Omobowale, a researcher at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.This is where the Kentucky wind turbine comes in.
- The Kentucky-based engineers, Akinbode Adedeji and Francis Agbali, want to use the man-made turbines to dry grains.
“The idea is for farmers to be able build this themselves, In worst-case scenarios it would be an artisan that would replicate the system for farmers. But it would be something that wouldn’t require a university education to replicate; a high school or elementary graduate could build this.” - The energy of the turbine would be connected to a blower.
- The blower would generate air flux that would be tunneled into a farmer’s drying system, suchas a grain storage bin or a solar dryer.
- This forced air would increase the rate of drying; Adedeji and Agbali say that grains can dry within 24 hours, as opposed to 3-4 days of air drying.
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