PH Science Lessons From IITA Vs From ICRISAT
As practitioner of my own 1980 theory of communication for development (C4D), I am now actively campaigning for research for development (R4D) in PH and abroad.
Today, I compare 2 approaches to R4D by 2 international research agencies trying to defeat the same aflatoxin contamination of farm produce by the fungus Aspergillus flavus. These are the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in India; and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) based in Nigeria – both under the aegis of CGIAR.
“Combating Aflatoxin[1]” shouts the webpage of ICRISAT (lower image); “IITA Signs Aflasafe[2]…” says the title from the IITA Bulletin(upper image). One method of combat contrasts with the other: dollar-rich, that of the IITA; dollar-conscious, that of ICRISAT.
Here is a quote from the IITA article by ANN (Author Not Named, 21 June 2021):
Food safety took a step forward in Mozambique as IITA signed a Technology Transfer and Licensing Agreement (TTLA) with AflaLivre Moçambique S.A. (AflaLivre) to manufacture and distribute Aflasafe in the country.
That IITA signed a TTLA with AflaLivre Mozambique to manufacture and distribute Aflasafe in Mozambique tells us that the amount is much, much! Again I quote from ANN:
The country’s huge production potential and aflatoxin challenge led IITA and partners to develop and adapt the aflatoxin biocontrol technology for local use with funding from USAID. After several years, two Aflasafe products – Aflasafe MZMW01 and Aflasafe MZ02 – that were developed with atoxigenic (read: non-toxic – FAH) strains of Aspergillus flavus native to Mozambique and tested across the country were registered in February 2019 for commercial use by the Division of Registration and Control of Agrochemicals, in the Department of Plant Health under the National Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Safety. As a result, farmers in Mozambique now have an effective technology to address the aflatoxin menace.
Did you notice the bureaucracy involved? 4 stages: from Division to Department to National Directorate to Ministry. I would not be surprised if the administrative matters attending the research were complicated. Also, note length of research: “Several years.”
This Aflasafe manufacturing facility in Nampula, the fifth in sub-Saharan Africa, should be operational by June 2022.
They need a manufacturing facility, and it will be operational next year – meaning, it must be dollar-consuming!
Mozambique has high aflatoxin levels in its food crops such as corn, cassava, and peanut. ANN says “high aflatoxin levels in these crops undermine their nutritional value and reduce access to lucrative export markets…”
In contrast, another ANN (see “Combating Aflatoxin[3]”, undated, ICRISAT.org) says ICRISAT developed in-house a much-more inexpensive protocol: “an aflatoxin testing kit using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) to rapidly detect aflatoxin” – plus “Good agricultural practices (GAPs) identified to reduce pre- and post-harvest aflatoxin contamination.”
GAPs plug any remaining health holes. Thus, following ICRISAT’s example, R4D is both intellectually & commercially rewarding when properly practiced!@517
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