Challenges

Aflatoxin belongs to a family of toxins found in crops such as maize, groundnuts and cottonseed. It is highly prevalent in the Gambia and negatively affects international trade, agriculture and public health. Aflatoxins are the principal trade risk for maize, groundnuts and cottonseed. Gambian groundnuts have remained relatively less competitive because of the presence of aflatoxin. Key products, which are birdfeed and cake, have not been allowed to enter European Union (EU) borders since 2015. For instance, birdfeed is exchanged for half the price of aflatoxin-free edibles in the EU and cake at discounts of up to 40 per cent in the region compared with the same product in the EU.[1] Low prices for exports have made the process less attractive for farmers, resulting in decreased production and economic losses.

Toward a Solution

To tackle these issues, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (T?KA) has partnered with the Government of the Gambia to implement the Aflatoxin Mitigation Programme (AMP). T?KA purchased test equipment and laboratory test consumables to be used for testing the levels of aflatoxin in groundnuts from the groundnut belt region of the Gambia. When verified as aflatoxin-free, the harvested groundnuts are expected to be purchased from the farmers with a 10 per cent premium on the declared farm gate price. The processed groundnuts are then exported to the EU for a 30 per cent higher price per ton than in 2016. Thus, the aflatoxin-free groundnuts effectively increase farmers’ incomes and open new markets for the Gambia.

To implement the project, around 7,000 farmers were selected by the National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation (NFSC) in the the Gambia’s groundnut belt, including the North Bank and Central River and West Bank divisions, where aflatoxin contamination levels are much higher than the national average. A total of 5,000 hectares were used for the implementation and test process. When the biocontrol agent Aflasafe is applied, it stays with the crop and continues to protect against contamination throughout the value chain. Therefore, the aflatoxin contamination is reduced in the storage and transport processes. In addition, the positive influences of atoxigenic strain applications carry over between crops across the fields and provide multi-year benefits. Lower aflatoxin levels lead to an increase in farmers’ incomes and the trade value of groundnuts. Through the opening of new markets, the project has been scaled up at the national level.

NFSC of the Gambia is responsible for preliminary tests on the product, using rapid test kits such as Elisa, to determine the levels of contamination. Since the NFSC is the paying agent for groundnuts, the data are available to serve as a verification tool for the number of farmers who saw increases in their revenues. The Ministry of Agriculture has participated in the monitoring and collection of the data on production; therefore, in the medium-term, this experience of Aflasafe groundnut production is expected to have an impact at the policy level.

This project aimed to remove obstacles to the sustainability of high added value agricultural products. Reducing local poverty in line with SDG target 1.2 is the primary goal in this context. In addition, by combating the toxins that contaminate the soil, the project contributed towards increased agricultural productivity (SDG 2.3) and the sustainability and effective use of natural resources (SDG 12.3). The project also contributed to the Istanbul Programme of Action (IPoA) Priority Area 2 (Agriculture, food security and rural development), by supporting efforts to increase agricultural production. The project also contributed to IPoA priority area number 3 (Trade) by providing technical and financial support to national and regional projects.

This experience can be extended to other aflatoxin-contaminated products. According to statistics from The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) [GAE1] in 2019 groundnut was the Gambia’s second most exported product[1]. The main export destinations are India ($32 million), Viet Nam ($72,100) and Singapore ($39,200)[2]. 

This project can be replicated in any country if requested, bearing in mind that each country has a different climate, soil texture and agricultural species and varieties.