**Example 2 – Nestlé Foods.**

Mycotoxin screening, including screening for aflatoxins forms a critical component of Nestlé's quality assessment of raw materials. Like WFP, Nestlé has embarked on capacity development initiatives from farmers in out-grower schemes that they work with. This was the Grains Quality Improvement Project. Through training on crop management practices, including post-harvest management, Nestlé markedly reduced their rejection rate from 96 to 4% (between 2007 and 2017) in sub-Saharan countries such as Ghana where this concept has been applied [26]. The Grain Quality Improvement Project (2009) was conducted with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ghana, Nigeria and Côte D'Ivoire [27, 28]. This kind of initiative was imperative for an International Food Brand Nestlé. Additionally, it helped the company to continue to buy locally and at the desired quality. The social impact of this project was perhaps important for Nestle's cooperate social responsibility goals and for the brand to retain its competitive advantage while not reneging on the strict quality standards for its food grains.

#### **Example 3 – AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe™ Pilot Program.**

The private sector involvement via the AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe™ Pilot program was designed to incentivize the use of technologies and implement practices that reduce aflatoxin incidence in crop (http://agresults.org/en/283/). Aflasafe™ is a biological control technology that favors the proliferation of naturally occurring populations of non-aflatoxigenic *Aspergillus* strains through competitive exclusion of toxin-producing aflatoxigenic *Aspergilli* [29]. The AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe™ Pilot Program introduced in Nigeria in 2013 encourages private businesses, called (Aflasafe) Implementers, involved in coordinating farmers and aggregating farmers' produce to reduce aflatoxin prevalence in crops by providing the necessary skills and technical information for Implementers to do so via training workshops and linking them to markets seeking premium quality grains (via Innovation Platforms) [30]. The AgResults program operates in Nigeria and is specifically targeted at promoting the use of Aflasafe™ as an inclusion to the good agricultural practices provided in the training package.

The private sector's involvement via this pilot program is two-fold. (1) The farmers' grain purchase coordination through Implementers (private businesses that coordinate the training of aflatoxin management including the use of Aflasafe™) ensures that demand for high quality grains are accessible; and (2) Purchase of high quality grains by the food and feed industries (especially the poultry industry) drive the demand for high quality grains. These food and feed industries pay a premium price for the high-quality grains. Additionally, the implementers gain a premium for proper implementation of the aflatoxin-management practice [31]. Due to the sustained demand for high quality grain by the food and feed industries, the implementers maintain the demand for the use of Aflasafe as part of aflatoxin management practices. As such, with the modulation of *Aspergillus* populations through repeated use of Aflasafe demand for maize with safe levels of aflatoxins in maize grains where the market demands are met with a price incentive as a driver in a pull-mechanism for the implementation of aflatoxin management techniques and technologies.

#### *2.1.1.3. Extension services and farmers groups/community societies*

prevailing market price to farmers who invested in behavior change as part of P4P. This percentage reduction demonstrated the power of influence that the private sector or those with high purchasing power can have on the market. A more detailed information on this program can be found at http://www1.wfp.org/purchase-for-progress. As part of the program under P4P, producers were trained on crop management practices at post-harvest such as rapid drying of grains to below 14% moisture content, grain sorting, proper sampling techniques for aflatoxin measurement, aflatoxin testing and sample grading. WFP purchased products from the farmers were possible and linked the farmers to markets for grains that they were

Mycotoxin screening, including screening for aflatoxins forms a critical component of Nestlé's quality assessment of raw materials. Like WFP, Nestlé has embarked on capacity development initiatives from farmers in out-grower schemes that they work with. This was the Grains Quality Improvement Project. Through training on crop management practices, including post-harvest management, Nestlé markedly reduced their rejection rate from 96 to 4% (between 2007 and 2017) in sub-Saharan countries such as Ghana where this concept has been applied [26]. The Grain Quality Improvement Project (2009) was conducted with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ghana, Nigeria and Côte D'Ivoire [27, 28]. This kind of initiative was imperative for an International Food Brand Nestlé. Additionally, it helped the company to continue to buy locally and at the desired quality. The social impact of this project was perhaps important for Nestle's cooperate social responsibility goals and for the brand to retain its competitive advantage while not reneging on the strict quality stan-

The private sector involvement via the AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe™ Pilot program was designed to incentivize the use of technologies and implement practices that reduce aflatoxin incidence in crop (http://agresults.org/en/283/). Aflasafe™ is a biological control technology that favors the proliferation of naturally occurring populations of non-aflatoxigenic *Aspergillus* strains through competitive exclusion of toxin-producing aflatoxigenic *Aspergilli* [29]. The AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe™ Pilot Program introduced in Nigeria in 2013 encourages private businesses, called (Aflasafe) Implementers, involved in coordinating farmers and aggregating farmers' produce to reduce aflatoxin prevalence in crops by providing the necessary skills and technical information for Implementers to do so via training workshops and linking them to markets seeking premium quality grains (via Innovation Platforms) [30]. The AgResults program operates in Nigeria and is specifically targeted at promoting the use of Aflasafe™ as an inclusion to the good agricultural practices provided in the training package. The private sector's involvement via this pilot program is two-fold. (1) The farmers' grain purchase coordination through Implementers (private businesses that coordinate the training of aflatoxin management including the use of Aflasafe™) ensures that demand for high quality grains are accessible; and (2) Purchase of high quality grains by the food and feed industries (especially the poultry industry) drive the demand for high quality grains. These

unable to take up.

**Example 2 – Nestlé Foods.**

114 Mycotoxins - Impact and Management Strategies

dards for its food grains.

**Example 3 – AgResults Nigeria Aflasafe™ Pilot Program.**

In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, farmers rely on and trust extension officers as accurate and reliable sources of agricultural advice. Therefore, extension agents are a powerful source of knowledge dissemination and awareness creation. However, due to the limitations in budgetary allocations, extension officers do not always have the financial power to reach out to many farmers in the farming communities with up-to-date knowledge on skills and technologies. Additionally, budgetary constraint also limits the ability of the extension officers to regularly receive training required to update their knowledge, skills and practices.

Farming communities have started organizing themselves into community groups with leadership structures that help in information dissemination [32]. When training is received by leaders in these groups within a central location, they are then able to disseminate the information in their local chapters. Information about aflatoxin management in many occasions has reached farmers this way. Through these organizational structures, groups are also able to organize field days or famers field schools. Field days where demonstration plots are displayed to farmers also constitute a form of training regularly done. However, this is difficult for aflatoxin control demonstrations, since the chemical toxin is not perceptible with the senses.

#### *2.1.1.4. Academic and research institutions*

Academic and research institutions play a key role in creating awareness of the control strategies for aflatoxin and aflatoxicosis prevalence. It is important for them to share accurate information about the management of aflatoxins. Distorted or inaccurate information about aflatoxin management is detrimental to awareness creation efforts made towards aflatoxin mitigation. Academic and research institutions have contributed to raising awareness through the publication of technical reports, discussions at technical meetings and contributions to non-technical writings and reports. They also contribute by organizing training meetings for important stakeholder groups such as extension practitioners, farmers groups, the private sector, regulatory organizations, and other important stakeholders to attend. It is also important for educational institutions and research organizations to partner in training students on aflatoxin management and other phytopathology concerns. This may ensure continuity in capacity development for the management of aflatoxigenic fungi, their toxins and other food security and food safety threats.

#### *2.1.1.5. Other awareness platforms*

Online documentation (e.g. websites, blogs, social networks), field extension services, commercial organizations and word of mouth are also important avenues of awareness creation. Dissemination of information via traditional media such as newspaper publications, radio broadcasts and discussions are also important for ensuring that the population gets the required information and to gauge the level of awareness/responses to the sensitization efforts. It is important that these efforts continue where already in place and make-up concerted efforts that are contributory to awareness creation as an important aflatoxin management strategy.

• Insect and pest control reduces the populations of pests that pre-dispose the crop to aflatoxin contamination. Insect control is particularly very important because of the strong correlation between mycotoxin contamination and insect damage. Using pest control can significantly reduce the risk of associated mycotoxins. With the growing inclinations for organic farming globally, the use of non-synthetic pesticides is preferable. Bird scare to prevent damage to the crop is also important. These practices do not only address the risk

Aflatoxin Management Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.78784 117

• Biological control of aflatoxin is another pre-harvest control strategy that is being adopted in sub-Saharan Africa. Aflasafe as reviewed earlier is a biocontrol measure. It involves the use of non-toxin producing strains to compete with aflatoxin-producing strains on the field as a naturally occurring displacement strategy implemented about a fortnight before crop flowering. Native strains are isolated from regions where the product is to be applied to the most suited/adapted non-toxin producing strains to that environment through rigorous research efforts for isolate selection. The technology has been commercialized under the trade name Aflasafe in a few African countries with continuing research efforts [29].

While mold contamination is known in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa because of their visual presentation and bitter taste, the aflatoxins that they produce are frequently unknown because they lack sensory attributes. Therefore, moldy grains would attract lesser value, while grains without visible mold, are not necessarily without aflatoxin contamination. Therefore, it is not uncommon for these grains to be used in the processing of food or feed material in which mold appearance is masked. This is for instance, in the processing of peanut butter, groundnut cake, poultry feed and fermentation for beers [40–43]. However, this is not a good management technique for aflatoxins as these poor-quality grains enter the food chain as alternative food products and the processing techniques may either minimally reduce the aflatoxins or concentrate the aflatoxins. However, visual signs of mold are not the only indicators of fungal infestation. It is possible for strains that produce high levels of aflatoxins to mildly infected grains, resulting in high aflatoxin levels. Also, grains contaminated with aflatoxins that have been washed and dried after infection, may no longer have visible mold growth but still contain the aflatoxins. This is because aflatoxins are only very mildly soluble in water at 10 mg/ml and are heat stable up to 150°C, after which they are

During harvest, exposure to aflatoxin contamination can occur due to practices that expose the crop to aflatoxigenic fungi as it is harvested. These could include harvesting during the rains or during high moisture conditions that encourage fungal proliferation; harvesting into recycled or contaminated containers such as bags, and carts that harbor the toxigenic mold or insects, or directly onto uncovered ground surfaces, threshing during harvest in a way that damages the grains. Preventing these would therefore involve the use of clean surfaces or containers for placement of harvested grains and rapid drying after harvest to avoid incuba-

of contamination but are also important for maintaining optimum yields.

only mildly detoxified [44].

*2.2.2. Peri-harvest aflatoxin prevention/reduction*

tion of the fungus and subsequent accumulation of the toxin.
