FARA presentation. South Africa -15 Oct. 2014

1. Date: 15-Oct-2014 www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Innovations in Outscaling Technologies in SSA– aflasafeTM
Joao Augusto
Lawrence K. Kaptoge
Peter Cotty
Joseph Atehnkeng
Ranajit Bandyopadhyay

2. • Highly toxic metabolite produced
by the ubiquitous Aspergillus
flavus fungus
• The fungus infects crops and
produces the toxin in the field and
in stores
• Fungus carried from field to store
• Contamination possible without
visible signs of the fungus
• Some predisposing factors:
– pre-harvest high temp and
drought stress
– wet conditions at harvest and
post-harvest periods
– insect damage
Aflatoxin Facts

3. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
aflatoxins prevalence, Heath and Trade effects
Prevalence of Aflatoxins in Food & Feed
• Several African staple commodities affected
• High human exposure in Africa – mother to baby
Human and Animal Health Effects
acute
• acute hepatic necrosis, cirrhosis, carcinoma
• Death; 200 people in Kenya; 74 in India
chronic
• carcinogenic
• stunting in under-fives
• anti-nutritional
• immune-suppressive
• gut integrity
Trade Losses due to Aflatoxins
• Nigeria and Senegal major groundnut exporters in 1960s. Compliance has
economic incentives
• Senegal:
• If aflatoxin levels are reduced, then national income would increase by
– $281 million through oil cake export
– $45 million through confectionary groundnut export.
• Best quality exported; poorer quality consumed domestically.
Date: 15-Oct-2014
500 ppb AF dietAF-free diet
~40% reduction in live weight (8 weeks)
Groundnut Pyramids in
Nigeria during 1960s

4. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Pre-Harvest Problem
Aflatoxin
(ppb)ppb)
Peanut (n = 188) Maize (n = 241)
Distribution (% samples)
> 4 54 70
> 10 41 52
> 20 29 24
Descriptive statistics (ppb)
Minimum < LOD < LOD
Maximum 3487 838
Mean 111 33
LOD = Limit of Detection; 1 ppb
Aflatoxin in Groundnut and Maize at Harvest
Increases in store

5. Kenya (CDC and Kenyan Ministry of Health 2004)
District Samples
% samples with aflatoxin levels (ppb)
<20 21-99 100-1,000 >1,000
Makueni 91 35 13 40 12
Kitui 73 38 21 32 10
Machakos 102 49 25 23 3
Thika 76 66 17 13 4
Total 342 47% 19% 27% 7%
Tanzania (IITA & partners, unpublished, 2013)
Aflatoxins in Markets
Crops Samples
% samples with aflatoxin levels (ppb)
<10 11-100 101-1,000 >1,000
Groundnut 180 89 11 0 0
Maize 287 71 15 10 4
Cassava 405 86 10 4 0.2

6. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
aflasafe development, effectiveness and safety
• Aflasafe is a safe and cost-effective biocontrol product that
reduces aflatoxins in field and stores
• A. flavus occurs naturally & both toxigenic and atoxigenic.
• Biological control involves introducing carefully selected
harmless atoxigenic strains, that have large competitive
advantages over toxic strains .
• competitive exclusion - The atoxigenic strains virtually
eliminate the toxic relatives and therefore considerably
reduce aflatoxin contamination
• aflasafe can reduce aflatoxin concentration by 60-96% in
maize at harvest and in storage.
• The beneficial effect of aflasafe is carried over from one
season to the next
• It is completely safe. There is no possibility of the four
constituent atoxigenic strains in becoming toxigenic.
Date: 15-Oct-2014

7. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Strain Selection Criteria
In the laboratory (~5,000 strains):
• Does not produce aflatoxin
• VCG/SSR group with
Wide geographic distribution
No toxigenic member
• Defective in >2 aflatoxin & CPA
genes
• Outcompetes toxigenic strains
After field application:
• Superior capacity to colonize,
multiply and survive in soil
• Superior frequency of isolation
from grains
• Superior capacity to reduce
aflatoxin
8-12 native strains
selected for field tests
4 native strains
formulated into
the final
product

8. Broadcast
@ 10 kg/ha 2-3 weeks
before flowering
Sporulation on moist soil
Spores
Insects
Aflasafe in 2.5 & 5 kg bags
3-20
days
Wind
Soil
colonization
30-33 grains m-2
How Does aflasafe Work?

9. Farmers treating maize and groundnut fields with AflaSafe
MAIZE: Aflatoxin reduction (%)
Stage 2009 2010 2011
Harvest 82 94 83
Storage 92 93 x
PEANUT: Aflatoxin reduction (%)
Stage 2009 2010 2011
Harvest - 95 82
Storage 100 80 x
71% and 52% carry-over of
inoculum 1 & 2 years after
application
Results from 382
on-farm trials

10. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Nigeria: Efficacy on Maize
372
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2009 2010 2011 2012
Aflasafe™
Control
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
2009 2010 2011 2012
82 94 83 86 82 93 89 90
51 14 199 38 51 14 166 38Fields (#)
Less (%)
At Harvest After Storage
*All means of aflasafe and control pairs significantly different; Student’s t-test (P<0.05)
*
Aflatoxin(ppb)

11. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Area Sample Treatment
Mean
Aflatox
(ppb)
Reduct.
(%)
Mean
Aflatox
(ppb)
Reduct.
(%)
Mean
Aflatox
(ppb)
Reduct.
(%)
Diourbel
Harvest
Treated 1.9
93
6.6
87
3.7
82
Control 29.7 50.1 20.3
Storage
Treated 4.4
86
2.1
91
6.9
81
Control 31.3 22.1 35.5
Nioro
Harvest
Treated 4.4
75
5.6
76
5.4
90
Control 17.6 23.1 55.7
Storage
Treated 3.5
95
2.8
94
11.5
84
Control 52.1 46.7 72.5
*All means of aflasafe treated and control pairs significantly different; Student’s t-test (P<0.05)
Senegal: Efficacy of aflasafe SN01
2010 (n=40) 2011 (n=34) 2012 (n=71)

12. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Basis of efficacy: species shift
Treatment
(n = 14)
Aspergillus species/strain distribution (%) – MAIZE/NIGERIA
Soil before inoculation Grain at harvest
L SBG parasiticus L SBG parasiticus
Aflasafe™ 90 aB 7 aA 3 aA 100 aB 0 bA 0 aA
Control 78 aB 15 aA 7 aA 83 bB 16 aA 0.3 aA
Means within the column with different lowercase letters are significantly different according to the t-
test at 5% level of probability. Means within the row with different uppercase letters are significantly
different according to the Fisher’s LSD test at 5% level of probability
Region Treatment
Aspergillus Colony Forming Units/g – G-nut/Senegal
2010 (n = 20) 2011 (n = 17)
Soil Kernel Soil Kernel
Diourbel
Control 2311 a 2912 a 474 a 3257 a
Aflasafe SN01 1793 a 3598 a 795 a 3965 a
Nioro
Control 228 a 3367 a 369 a 3572 a
Aflasafe SN01 120 a 3189 a 470 a 4275 a
*All means of aflasafe and control pairs significantly different; Student’s t-test (P<0.05)
Aspergillus population does not increase due to aflasafe application
No change in Aspergillus Pop.

13. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Bars with same letter within the same
crop/year not significantly different (P<0.05)
Basis of Efficacy: Strain Shift
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Soil Grain Soil Grain
2009 (n = 49) 2010 (n = 14)
Control Treated
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Soil Grain Soil Grain
2009 (n = 2) 2010 (n = 16)
Proportion of 4 aflasafe™ strains in soil before treatment
and grains after harvest in control and treated fields
Aflasafestrains(%)
aa a aa a aa a aa a
b
b b
b
Carry-over of inoculum: 71, 52
and 28% after 1, 2, and 3 years

14. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Kenya: Efficacy of aflasafe KE01™
Area (fields) Control Treated
Reduction
(%)
Hola (n = 20) 885 20 98
Bura (n = 16) 105 7 93
Makueni (n = 15) 85 1 99
Aflatoxin (ppb)
*All means of aflasafe treated and control pairs significantly different; Student’s t-test (P<0.05)
38
20
0
88
60
33
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Treated
Control
Fields (%) above
10 ppb in 3 areas
Fields(%)
Deadly (3,700 ppb & 2,270 ppb)
533 ppb
Hola

15. 15
atoxigenic strain manufacturing facility
Arizona Cotton Research & Protection Council, USA
AF36 production in USA

16. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Aflasafe Pilot Plant Objectives
Demonstration-scale plant to be used as a model to:
• Optimize and adapt the manufacturing process
• Reduce aflasafe manufacturing cost
• Turn-key facility for replication in other countries
• Demonstrate commercial viability for mass production
of Aflasafe.
Date: 15-Oct-2014

17. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium Date: 15-Oct-2014
Aflasafe Plant – Ibadan Nigeria
Partition: Labs, Substrate Processing and Packaging/storage of finished product.
Packaging & Finished Product Storage
Wash Rooms
Lab
Grain Intake, Cleaning, Pasteurisation and Storage

19. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium Date: 15-Oct-2014
Aflasafe Plant - Ibadan Nigeria
Cooler
Roaster
aflasafe Plant
Aflasafe despatch 2014

20. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium Date: 15-Oct-2014
Aflasafe Pilot Plant
Weighing & Heat Sealing Inoculation & Weighing
Finished Product Storage Final Package – Front & Back

21. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium Date: 15-Oct-2014
Production 2014
• Production of aflasafe for:
Inoculum Production
2013 2014
Country Quantity (Tons) Quantity (Tons)
Nigeria 61 120
Burkina Faso 1.5
Senegal 6 10
The Gambia 2
Zambia 12 3
kenya 2
Mozambique 0 1
82.5 136

22. www.iita.org
• IITA
• USDA
• AATF
• BMGF/USAID
• Doreo Partners
• National institutions
Strong Partnership
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium

23. Date: 15-Oct-2014 www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Product Development in Africa
Products ready for registration
Products under testing
Strain development in progress
Senegal
Mali
Burkina
Ghana
Nigeria
Kenya
Tanzania
Mozambique
Zambia
Rwanda
Burundi
Uganda
2015/16
onwards
Benin
Togo
Ivory Coast
Ethiopia
South
Sudan?
Sierra
Leone?
…………
The Gambia
Malawi

24. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Challenges
• Aflatoxin is a hidden problem
• Chemical analysis required
• Awareness is low
• Long incubation for expression of
liver cancer
• Regulations either non-existent or
poorly enforced
• Market does not usually discriminate
• Demonstration of product value
• Lack of biopesticide manufacturers
The value of a
technology on the
shelf is as much
as the cost of the
space it occupies
on the shelf.
Must translate
knowledge into
usable products
and practices to
benefit people
But……

25. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Key Elements
• Farmer-centric: Farmers’ interest
as the foundation of the action.
Value chain and home-grown food
• Action-oriented: Using practical
methods which involve doing
things to deal with problems, not
just talking about ideas, plans, or
theories
• Innovation platform: An approach
to problem solving through which
actors with a stake in a common
issue or set of issues get together
regularly to address their common
challenges.
Mycored Europe, 28 May, 2013

26. Poultry Feeding Study
$3,200 net
profit from
10,000 birds
in 8 weeks
www.iita.orgMycored Europe, 28 May, 2013A member of CGIAR consortium
Aflasafe maize feed
Toxic maize feed

27. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Integrated approach to manage aflatoxins
Aggregation
Aflasafe
Inputs & training to
improve productivity
Farmer groups/
value chain
Training for
pre/postharvest
afla management
Awareness and
sensitizations
Policy and advocacy
Market linkages
Aflatoxin testing

28. G-20 AgResults Aflasafe
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
• Pull mechanism – Aflasafe is one of the first three pilots
• Provides incentives after demonstrating adoption
• Private sector driven, but focused on smallholder groups
• Implementers provide credit, inputs and technical services to
increase yield
• Aflasafe purchased at cost to improve quality
• Maize tested for aflasafe strains; if present in large frequency,
the implementers incentivized with $18.75/ton maize
• Implementers negotiate maize sale at premium
• Project provides aflatoxin awareness, training of
implementers, and identifies potential market linkages
• Target: 260,000 ha in 4 years

29. G-20 AgResults Aflasafe
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
• Pull mechanism – Aflasafe is one of the first three pilots
• Provides incentives after demonstrating adoption
• Private sector driven, but focused on smallholder groups
• Implementers provide credit, inputs and technical services to
increase yield
• Aflasafe purchased at cost to improve quality
• Maize tested for aflasafe strains; if present in large frequency,
the implementers incentivized with $18.75/ton maize
• Implementers negotiate maize sale at premium
• Project provides aflatoxin awareness, training of
implementers, and identifies potential market linkages
• Target: 260,000 ha in 4 years

30. AgResults Aflasafe Pilot -- 2013
www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Some key statistics
• Number of implementers: 4
• Number of farmers: 1,015
• Treated area: 1,457 ha
• Average productivity: 4.3 tons/ha
• Maize aggregated for sale: 2,031 tons
• Samples with <4 ppb AF (n = 660): 99%
• Samples with >70% aflasafe strains
(n = 88): 65% to 100%
• ROI: -28 to 510% (mean 210%)
• Aflasafe maize kept for family (n = 60): 46%

31. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Aflasafe Return on Investment
Quantity
sold
(tons)
Premium
(%)
Premium
(USD)
Aflasafe
cost
(USD)
Finance
cost
(USD)
Net
profit
(USD)
Seasonal
RoI
AgResults
Premium
(USD)
Total
Profit
(USD)
Total
RoI
120.0 7.5% 3,000 836 146 2,017 241% 1,800 3,817 456%
150.0 7.5% 3,750 1,046 183 2,521 241% 2,250 4,771 456%
96.0 3.6% 1,200 669 117 414 62% 1,440 1,854 277%
128.0 13.2% 5,600 892 156 4,552 510% 1,920 6,472 725%
32.0 7.5% 800 223 39 538 241% 480 1,018 456%
30.1 1.8% 188 210 37 -58 -28% 452 393 187%

32. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Scaling-Out
• Nigeria: AgResults (260,000 t)
• Senegal: Area-wide treatment in
2013; about 8 tons used
• Kenya: Government buy-in;
excellent support
• Zambia: Large-scale efficacy tests
and demonstration of product
value with private sector (12 t)
• Need for business plan,
manufacturing capacity,
marketing and distribution
strategies
• Critical role of PACA and RECs

33. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Aflasafe Manufacturing Facility
Large-scale: capacity 5 tons/hour
Cost: ~US$1.6 million; Price: $14 - $18/ha
Purpose: Scaling up

34. Modular Manufacturing Facility
Capacity: 15 tons/day
Cost: ~US$800,000
Purpose: Introduction
Cost: $12 – 15/ha
Labour intensive

36. Biopesticides Registration
USDA-FAS support
• KEPHIS, Kenya: 2010 (regional)
• Ibadan, Nigeria: 2010 (regional)
• Addis Ababa: 2011 (regional)
• PCPB, Kenya: 2012 (national)
• Zanzibar, Tanzania: 2012 (regional)
• Dakar, Senegal: 2012 (national)
• Lilongwe, Malawi: 2013 (regional)
USDA-FAS also supports work on sampling protocols

37. Current and future biocontrol efforts
• Create a sustainable system (commercialization/public good)
where small holder farmers have access to Aflasafe and are
incentivized to utilize Aflasafe to control aflatoxin levels in
their maize
• Value chain and innovation platforms
• Develop cheaper manufacturing method
• Financing and implementation of manufacturing facility
• Advocacy, awareness, demonstration of product value
• Full registration, licensing and stewardship
• Training and technical back-stopping
• Develop second generation product
• Develop regional strains – fill country gaps in strain collection

38. www.iita.orgA member of CGIAR consortium
Impact of aflasafe
Mycored Europe, 28 May, 2013
75
94
100
0
3
39
73
27
100
80
60
40
20
0
<4 <10 <20 >20
EU WFP US unsafe
maximum allowable aflatoxin level (ppb)
Aflasafe
untreated
Potential increase in
productivity of
communities in aflasafe-
treated areas
DALYs saved: 103,000 - 184,000
cost-effectiveness ratio: 5.1 - 24.8
Source: Felicia Wu, Pittsburgh Univ.
Trade Health

39. People @ IITA
• Pathology
– Ranajit Bandyopadhyay
(Nigeria)
– Joseph Atehnkeng (Nigeria)
– Joao Augusto (Mozambique)
– Charity Mutegi (Kenya)
– Juliet Akello (Zambia)
– Fen Beed (Tanzania)
– Seun Olasupo (Lab; Ibadan)
– Several visiting scientists
(Nick Garber, Lamine
Senghor …. )
• Commercialization
– Debo Akande (Nigeria)
– Prem Warrior (consultant)
• Policy
– Francesca Nelson (Tanzania)
• Breeding
– Abebe Menkir (Nigeria)
• Socio-economics
– Tahirou Abdoulaye (Nigeria)
• Engineering
– Lawrence Kaptoge (Nigeria)
– Benito Zeledon (Nigeria)
• Advocacy and awareness
– All
– Godwin Atser (Nigeria)
• Partnerships and training
– All
– National partners

40. • Impact of aflatoxins have several development
dimensions:
– post-harvest losses, nutrition, health,
crops, livestock, fish, trade, markets,
policies, institutions and politics
• Reduction of aflatoxin will improve human health,
increase farm income, improve profitability of animal
industries, increase regional and international trade,
and reputation of African products in global markets
Conclusion

41. • Aflatoxins in food and feed pervasive
in Africa
• Biological control, as the foundation,
with other practices can dramatically
reduce aflatoxin contamination and
improve food safety and security
• Efforts underway to pilot
commercialization of aflatoxin
biocontrol and develop regional
strains
• The pilots need to be up-scaled and
efforts to improve efficacy needs a
fillip for wide-spread impact on
health and trade in Africa
Summary

43. IITA
Tucson
USDA/ARS
IITA, USDA, & Doreo have Teamed up to Bring
Aflatoxin Prevention to Africa
Made Possible by Many National Partners in Ministries, Industry, and on the Farm
Nigeria
For more information about aflatoxin biocontrol for Africa, check out: www.aflasafe.com