Aflatoxin mitigation in Sudan gets boost with multi-stakeholder partnership
Samil Industrial Co., in collaboration with IITA, hosted a workshop in late 2019 in Al Salam Rotana Hotel, Khartoum, Sudan, to inaugurate the Multi-stakeholder Partnership for Aflatoxin Mitigation in Sudan. The Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Issa Osman Sharif inaugurated the workshop, which involved representatives from many sectors. These included government institutes, universities, research institutes, the private sector (crop producers and traders/ animal feed industry/poultry, and dairy), UN agencies, civil society, embassies, and Development Banks.
At the inauguration workshop the Economic Representative of the French Embassy reaffirmed the commitment of the French Government to contribute to the development of the agricultural sector in Sudan. The grant of US$3 million was announced for a 5-year project to develop and commercialize Aflasafe in Sudan.
The workshop included an exchange of experiences through presentations of aflatoxin impact on humans and animals, the situation of aflatoxin contamination in staple crops in Sudan, and options to address aflatoxin contamination that include the use of atoxigenic biocontrol products. IITA scientists from CGIAR, Ranajit Bandyopadhyay and Alejandro Ortega-Beltran, introduced the participants to Aflasafe and explained the pathway to develop and commercialize Aflasafe in Sudan.
Workshop participants.
Samil was commended by representatives of the World Food Programme (WFP), Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA), IITA, and other stakeholders for starting this unique model of a private sector company leading a national initiative to reduce aflatoxins across Africa and hosting the first multi-sectoral workshop in Sudan. During the event, PACA’s involvement with other African countries was highly appreciated and many participants showed their interest in seeing a PACA program in the country. Participation by the diverse sectors was very high and a shared desire to improve the quality of local crops was evident throughout the sessions. Many participants became aware of biocontrol for the first time.
The second day of the workshop involved brainstorming activities on awareness and policy and a roadmap for stakeholders. The major outcomes for awareness creation were:
- Create a roadmap to raise awareness among all stakeholders
- Identify the relevant tools and techniques to obtain this awareness
- Establish an information system for knowledge management to share mycotoxin information.
The discussion on policies and stakeholders’ roadmap came up with the following major outcomes:
- Identification of stakeholders and their roles.
- Amendments or draft of new legislation in aflatoxin mitigation.
- Establishment of the roadmap for aflatoxin mitigation.
