Project seeks to end post-harvest aflatoxin problem in Tanzania
Maize contaminated with aflatoxin. PHOTO | MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, TANZANIA
For years, Tanzania has faced a recurring problem of high levels of aflatoxin in harvested grain. And countries that routinely buy maize from Tanzania, such as Kenya, have often temporarily banned imports, citing the chemical.
Now Tanzanian authorities say the problem could soon be a thing of the past. A five-year aflatoxin control project to equip Tanzanian farmers with better ways of growing, harvesting and storing crops is set to end the problem.
The Tanzania Initiative for Preventing Aflatoxin Contamination (TANIPAC) project, part of the Tanzania Development Vision 2025 (TDV 2025), focuses on post-harvest hygiene, including adequate drying and waterproofing.
Vision 2025 identifies food security, among other things, as critical to the country’s economic development.
Reading in between the lines, this toxic maize is Hakainde’s imported maize from Tanzania…Allowed into the country without any quality control inspections.just like the GMO corn he was given by the USA.
Maize production is not very easy.The cost of production for maize is very expensive as it has a good number of cost centers.From preparing the land planting, weeding application of weed killers fertilizers some times spraying, harvesting, collection of grain transportation to safer storage areas and packing add preservatives and the weather can affect the grain, moisture and temperature may act on grain.Tanzania is a vast country with different weather conditions in different regions.Some areas are near the ocean and other areas are on hills and mountain and maize is produced in various areas.Areas like dares Salam are usually very humid.I wouldn’t blame how they keep their grain but Tanzania is an agriculture country with many agriculture experts and good production of agriculture chemicals.On the prevention of Aflatoxin is what I can’t say but there is a project and the inadequacies may only be known by the scientists in that country.The fact is maize is collected from far flung areas.I know that the distance from daraeslam to Lusaka is two thousand kilometers.Daraeslaam to Nakonde is one thousand kilometers.Maize stoke is vulnerable to go bad once it overstays.Some people blamed government for selling maize we had in stoke.They wanted government to keep it for long but government explained the consequences of keeping maize that long.I think we may learn something and think deeper on this maize issue.