Awareness of aflatoxin contamination and safety of maize along supply chain in Kondoa and Chemba districts in Dodoma, Tanzania
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Date
2022
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Maize (Zea mays) is a staple food for the majority of people in Tanzania, which plays a
key role in subsistence and as a cash crop among actors of the maize value chain.
The study was conducted during the 2020–2021 cropping season in two districts, Kondoa
and Chemba, in the Dodoma region of central Tanzania. The objectives were to assess
stakeholders' awareness of aflatoxin contamination in maize (smallholder farmers, traders,
and consumers), to assess post-harvest handling practices of maize among smallholder
farmers, and to determine the current levels of aflatoxins B 1 contamination in maize.
Structured questionnaires were used to collect the data. A cross-sectional survey was used
in collecting primary data. A total of 380 respondents, including smallholder farmers,
traders, and consumers from each ward, were selected. In addition, 90 maize samples
(40 from smallholder farmers, 20 from traders, and 30 from consumers) were analyzed for
aflatoxins using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The results show
about 56% of the smallholder farmers and 52% of the traders were aware of the
contamination. However, the majority of the main stakeholder (consumer) was unaware
of the contamination with aflatoxins (74%). Moreover, the result shows smallholder
farmers had inadequate knowledge of best post-harvest practices and these were
associated with post-harvest losses and the microbiological quality of maize. It was
observed that the majority of smallholder farmers (75% ) used traditional post-harvest
handling practices such as harvesting maize and placing it on the ground, storing maize in
galleries, drying (on the ground); use of polypropylene bags as a storage facility. Few
samples of the maize value chain were contaminated with AFB 1 and total aflatoxins.
Furthermore, the result shows five-point six percent (5.6%) of collected samples were
contaminated with aflatoxins B 1 , and 3.3% of the aflatoxins samples exceeded the European Union (EU) and Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) regulatory limits for
AFB 1 and were mainly collected from traders in Kondoa district. Extension workers
should train farmers on effective post-harvest management practices of maize in order to
minimize losses and improve the quality. In addition, efforts should be made to educate
the general public, particularly consumers, about the dangers of aflatoxins contamination,
and affordable techniques should be made available to maize farmers in the Kondoa and
Chemba districts of Dodoma, Tanzania, in order to reduce grain losses and increase
income and food security.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Aflatoxin contamination, Maize, Chain supply, Kondoa, Chemba districts, Dodoma, Tanzania