Building partnerships to promote public awareness of aflatoxin, and to develop and advocate strategi

1
Building partnerships to promote public awareness
of aflatoxin, and to develop and advocate
strategies and policies that enable the
production of aflatoxin-free groundnut
Session II
2
The aflatoxin problem

• Aflatoxin is a serious problem affecting
  long-term health of humans and animals
• Aflatoxin contamination affects trade and export
  markets
• Aflatoxin contamination is widespread in the food
  and feed chain, and not just in groundnut, e.g in
  kernels, fodder, milk, confectionary etc
• Aflatoxin is an invisible problem in many cases
  there are no visible symptoms

3
The aflatoxin problem (cont.)

• Farmers are unaware of the problem and potential
  health risks
• Aflatoxin contamination is found in the fields of
  the rich and poor
• Some processors are aware of the problem, but
  lack tools to measure contamination easily and
  cheaply
• No market or legislative incentive to produce
  aflatoxin-free groundnut

4
So

• Aflatoxin contamination is a complex problem
  affecting and involving many stakeholders and
  agencies in the public and private sector e.g.
  groundnut farmers, groundnut processors, human
  consumers and their health, animals and their
  health, dairy production, trade and export
  markets

5
But

• There are technological solutions to help
  farmers produce aflatoxin-free groundnuts, and
  processors produce aflatoxin-free products
• Question?
• How to get technological solutions adopted
  and/or create a more favourable environment for
  their adoption

6
Form a consortium or partnership

• of stakeholders in the aflatoxin problem (e.g.
  farmers, processors, consumers, extension
  agencies, doctors, vets etc)
• that can consider the aflatoxin problem in the
  wider context of public health, markets, trade,
  technology
• i.e . consider factors beyond the control of
  groundnut farmers and processors that affect
  their ability to reduce aflatoxin

7
What is the role of a consortium or partnership?

• To consider how
• to raise and promote awareness of the health
  risks of aflatoxin contamination
• to promote and disseminate technologies that
  reduce aflatoxin during groundnut production and
  post-harvest processing
• to influence markets, policy and practice in the
  public and private sector

8
Objective of Session II

• Theme How to improve groundnut-based
  livelihoods?

• Wednesday afternoon
• background on socio-economic aspects
• technologies that can reduce aflatoxin
• discussion

9
Theme How to improve groundnut-based
livelihoods?

• Thursday
• Discussion of the Theme in smaller groups,
  facilitated
• by Andy Hall and colleagues, to produce an action
  plan
• - What?
• - Who?
• - Roles?
• - Additional research and development?
• - Links to other programmes?
• - Potential sources of funding?

10
Outcomes of Session II

• How to build partnership agree to participate?
  other partners?
• Roles and responsibilities of the partnership
• How to raise and promote awareness of aflatoxin
  as a public health issue
• How to raise and promote awareness of
  aflatoxin-reducing technologies to farmers and
  processors
• How to advocate/ influence/ promote markets for
  aflatoxin-free products
• How to advocate/ influence/ implement policies to
  reduce aflatoxin contamination