Deputy Minister of Agriculture praises IITA’s technologies and pledges support to register aflasafeTz
The Deputy Minister for Agriculture in Tanzania, Dr Mary Mwanjelwa, expressed appreciation for the efforts of IITA to develop the agriculture sector in Tanzania. These interventions include developing innovative technologies to increase production such as improved varieties, to add value to agricultural commodities, and to reduce postharvest losses.
Dignitaries visiting the IITA booth.
Mwanjela was particularly impressed by ongoing efforts to control aflatoxin and reduce its negative impact on health and trade through the innovative biocontrol product aflasafeTZ and assured the Institute of the government’s support in the registration in the country.
The Minister said this when she visited the IITA booth during the week-long national World Food Day celebrations in Tanzania. She further urged the Institute to step up efforts in educating communities about aflatoxins and ensuring aflasafeTZ is accessible and available to farmers.
Other visitors to the booth included the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Charles Tizeba (MB); the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Eng. Mathew Mtigumwe; the Geita Regional Commissioner, Maj Gen (rtd) Ezekiel E. Kyung; and the District Commissioner, Stanley K. Nduguru.
World Food Day is celebrated every year on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 1945. This year’s theme was “Change the future of migration: Invest in food security and rural development” and Tanzania celebrated in Geita, northern Tanzania.
IITA joined this year’s celebration that brought together governments, nongovernment organizations, and private entrepreneurs who took part in the exhibitions where the Institute showcased inoculants (BioxFix, Nodumax, LegumeFix), biocontrol technologies for combating aflatoxin (Aflasafe), postharvest storage technologies (Collapsible Dryer Case), and value-added products made by the Tanzania Youth Agripreneurs (TYA) such as cassava flour (Mpishi Mkuu brand), cassava flour products (strips, chinchin, “visheti”, gari), and yellow maize flour produced from vitamin A yellow maize.
