Browsing by Author "Mabruki, Fadhili"

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Knowledge, awareness and post-harvest practices predisposing stored maize to aflatoxin contamination in Morogoro municipality and Makambako district, Tanzania
(Science and Education Publishing, 2022-07-01) Makundi, Isaac; Mabruki, Fadhili; Temba, Benigni A.
Aflatoxin contamination in maize by Aspergillus species negatively affects the quality of food, economy as well as human and animal health worldwide and is hence a globally growing public health problem. This study aimed at assessing knowledge and awareness on aflatoxins as well as post-harvest practices predisposing stored maize to aflatoxin contamination in Morogoro municipality and Makambako district, Tanzania. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 226 stakeholders who responded to questions assessing their knowledge and awareness on aflatoxins and practices predisposing stored maize to aflatoxin contamination. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 was conducted to determine the statistical significance of the practices predisposing stored maize to aflatoxin contamination by comparison of means among the study groups. Descriptive statistical analysis was employed to describe knowledge and awareness of aflatoxin contamination among respondents. The results based on the assessment criteria revealed that majority (71%) of the studied population in the study areas had low knowledge and awareness in relation to aflatoxin contamination on stored maize. The results also revealed that some aspects of post-harvest handling of maize including storage with other crops, mode of storage and storage duration positively influenced infestation of aflatoxigenic fungi on the maize stored. We recommend the provision of appropriate education via seminars and workshops to the respective stakeholders to help increase their knowledge and awareness on aflatoxin contamination.
Occurence of aspergillus flavus and aspergillus parasiticus in stored maize in Morogoro Municipality and Makambako district,Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture., 2022-10-05) Makundi, Isaac; Mabruki, Fadhili; Temba, Benigni
Maize is an important cash and food crop grown in Tanzania and other parts of the world. The crop is susceptible to fungal infestation and subsequent mycotoxins contamination that negatively affects human and animal health as well as the socio-economic status of the farmers and respective stakeholders. The study was conducted to determine occurrence of aflatoxigenic fungi (A.flavus and A.parasiticus) on maize stored in warehouses found in Morogoro municipality and Makambako district in Tanzania. A total of 226 maize samples were collected from six wards in the selected study areas then analysed for aflatoxigenic fungal infestation. Potato Dextrose Agar was used for isolation of the fungi which were then identified to species level via observation of morphological characteristics with aid of taxonomic keys. The proportional occurrence of A. parasiticus and A. flavus with respect to areas where samples were collected was presented using descriptive statistics. The result showed that only 15% (34/226) of the collected samples were contaminated with Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Among the samples collected, the occurrence of A. flavus was higher than that of A. parasiticus whereby 28 samples were contaminated with A. flavus while 6 samples with A. parasiticus. We found that the methods used in the storage of this major staple food used by majority of Tanzanians makes it vulnerable to infestation and subsequent contamination by aflatoxigenic fungi. We therefore recommend that responsible sectors should implement appropriate intervention strategies designed to reduce occurrence of aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species on stored maize.
Stakeholders’ knowledge, awareness and occurrence of aspergillus species on stored maize in Morogoro municipality and Makambako district, Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2022) Mabruki, Fadhili
Maize is an important staple food crop grown in all regions of Tanzania. In the country, the crop is used as a source of income to reduce poverty and ensure food security in various regions. The crop is susceptible to Aspergillus and aflatoxin contamination during production and storage stages. Such contamination puts the health and well-being as well as economic status of Tanzanian people at risk by reducing the nutritional value and palatability of the crop. This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of aflatoxigenic fungi as well factors predisposing maize stored in Morogoro municipality and Makambako district to their subsequent contamination. The study also assessed knowledge and awareness on aflatoxins as well. A total of 226 maize samples were collected from warehouses from six wards, three from each study area for analysis of aflatoxigenic fungi. Isolates obtained from the maize samples were identified to species level by observing morphological characteristics with aid of taxonomic keys. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to describe the proportional occurrence of A. parasiticus and A. flavus with respect to areas where the samples were collected. The study found that only 34 (15%) of the collected samples were contaminated with aflatoxigenic fungal species particularly Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Incidence of A. flavus in the collected samples was observed to be relatively higher compared to that of A. parasiticus, whereby 28 samples were contaminated with A. flavus while only six samples were contaminated with A. parasiticus. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 226 respondents to assess their knowledge and awareness on aflatoxins and factors predisposing stored maize to aflatoxin contamination. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 was performed to determine the statistical significance of responses reflecting factors predisposing stored maize to aflatoxin contamination by comparison of means among the study groups.Descriptive statistics were presented to describe knowledge and awareness of the studied population on aflatoxins. The study revealed that majority of the studied areas had little knowledge and awareness in relation to aflatoxins contamination on stored maize. The results also showed that other factors such as storage with other crops, mode of storage and storage duration positively influenced infestation of aflatoxigenic fungi in the stored maize. The inadequacy of knowledge and awareness reflects the demand of stakeholder training to provide them with education on ways to mitigate and minimize the chance of aflatoxin contamination on the crop during storage.