Mitigating aflatoxin in Rwanda

First Published: 2021-02-14On August 18th, 2021, the International Growth Centre and the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture organised a webinar under the theme Market Driven Strategies for Mitigating Aflatoxin in Rwanda. The webinar highlighted Rwanda's progress towards mitigating aflatoxin and showcased innovative approaches used by neighbouring countries. The event was an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss Rwanda’s key challenges in post-harvest management and assess the evidence on approaches that have (not) worked in similar contexts

USAID TARGET project on fertilizer micro-dosing for the prosperity of small-scale farmers in the Sahel: Training Workshop on Large-scale Transfer (scaling-up) of Fertilizer Micro-dosing Technology, 20-24 January 2004, Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso

The USAID TARGET project on fertilizer micro-dosing for the prosperity of small-scale farmers in the Sahel was launched in three countries of West Africa, namely Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. The goal of the project is to double the crop production and increase the farm incomes through the uptake of fertilizer micro-dosing technology and better farmer-based cooperative organizations. In all the three countries where the technology is being promoted, yields of sorghum and millet increased twofold in most cases, and the farmers have reported increase in incomes. To achieve the overall objective of the project, proven fertilizer micro-dosing technologies together with the "warrafitage " or inventory credit system should be transferred to a large number of end users in areas targeted by the project. It is essential to build the capacity of project partners. In this context, a workshop on "large-scale transfer of fertilizer micro-dosing technologies" was organized in Ouahigouya, Burkina Faso, from 20 to 23 January 2004. The training workshop provided the participants with tools that will enable them develop action plans for scaling up existing gains. A total of 19 participants from the national agricultural research systems, NGOs, IFDC and ICRISAT attended the workshop

Development and scale-up of bioprotectants to keep staple foods safe from aflatoxin contamination in Africa

Publication online: 22 Nov 202

Can it be all more simple? Manufacturing aflatoxin biocontrol products using dry spores of atoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus as active ingredients

Open Access Journal; Published online: 23 Mar 2021Aflatoxin contamination of staple crops, commonly occurring in warm areas, negatively impacts human and animal health, and hampers trade and economic development. The fungus Aspergillus flavus is the major aflatoxin producer. However, not all A. flavus genotypes produce aflatoxins. Effective aflatoxin control is achieved using biocontrol products containing spores of atoxigenic A. flavus. In Africa, various biocontrol products under the tradename Aflasafe are available. Private and public sector licensees manufacture Aflasafe using spores freshly produced in laboratories adjacent to their factories. BAMTAARE, the licensee in Senegal, had difficulties to obtain laboratory equipment during its first year of production. To overcome this, a process was developed in Ibadan, Nigeria, for producing high-quality dry spores. Viability and stability of the dry spores were tested and conformed to set standards. In 2019, BAMTAARE manufactured Aflasafe SN01 using dry spores produced in Ibadan and sent via courier and 19 000 ha of groundnut and maize in Senegal and The Gambia were treated. Biocontrol manufactured with dry spores was as effective as biocontrol manufactured with freshly produced spores. Treated crops contained safe and significantly (P < 0.05) less aflatoxin than untreated crops. The dry spore innovation will make biocontrol manufacturing cost-efficient in several African countries

Residues from black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae rearing influence the plant-associated soil microbiome in the short term

Open Access Journal; Published online: 26 Sep 2022The larvae of the black soldier fly (BSFL, Hermetia illucens) efficiently close resource cycles. Next to the nutrient-rich insect biomass used as animal feed, the residues from the process are promising plant fertilizers. Besides a high nutrient content, the residues contain a diverse microbial community and application to soil can potentially promote soil fertility and agricultural production through the introduction of beneficial microbes. This research assessed the application of the residues on plant-associated bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere of a grass-clover mix in a 42-day greenhouse pot study. Potted soil was amended with BSFL residues (BR+) or conventional compost (CC+) produced by Rwandan waste management companies in parallel to residues and compost sterilized (BR-, CC-) by high-energy electron beam (HEEB) as abiotic controls. The fertilizers were applied at a rate of 150  kg N  ha−1. Soil bacterial and fungal communities in both fertilizer and soil were assessed by high-throughput sequencing of ribosomal markers at different times after fertilizer application. Additionally, indicators for soil fertility such as basal respiration, plant yield and soil physicochemical properties were analyzed. Results showed that the application of BSFL residues influenced the soil microbial communities, and especially fungi, stronger than CC fertilizers. These effects on the microbial community structure could partly be attributed to a potential introduction of microbes to the soil by BSFL residues (e.g., members of genus Bacillus) since untreated and sterilized BSFL residues promoted different microbial communities. With respect to the abiotic effects, we emphasize a potential driving role of particular classes of organic matter like fiber and chitin. Indeed, especially taxa associated with decomposition of organic matter (e.g., members of the fungal genus Mortierella) were promoted by the application of BSFL residues. Soil fertility with respect to plant yield (+17% increase compared to unamended control) and basal respiration (+16% increase compared to unamended control) tended to be improved with the addition of BSFL residues. Findings underline the versatile opportunities for soil fertility arising from the application of BSFL residues in plant production and point to further research on quantification of the described effects

Banana market segmentation & value chain analysis for Rwanda: study report

A study was conducted in Rwanda to identify and characterize different banana market segments, with a focus on cooking and dessert bananas. The goal was to generate production and market-related information to inform the development of banana target product profiles (TPPs) for Rwanda, which can support crop development programs and other actors in meeting the needs of different end-users such as farmers, processors, and consumers. The study employed a mixed-methods approach consisting of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, including a stakeholders' workshop, an experts' workshop, and semi-structured interviews with various actors along the banana value chains. The findings indicate that Banana’s importance as a food and cash crop continues to grow with time in Rwanda. With a fast-growing population, urbanization, and the influx of people from high banana eating countries in the recent past, consumption of cooking banana has widened both in quantity and variety of cooking ways (dishes). This presents both challenges and opportunities for value chain actors to meet the changing demands for new products e.g., varieties or traits. The production of cooking banana has been steadily increasing at the expense of beer banana, with both now occupying almost equal shares of planted areas. Meanwhile, the proportion of dessert banana has also seen growth over time. Nevertheless, the importance of beer banana remains strong due to better adaptability of beer cultivars in some locations, easy marketing in poorly connected regions, and its importance to the beer and wine industry in the country. Male and female farmers in Rwanda have similar preferences for cooking and dessert banana traits. However, brewing banana seems to be a male’s crop, most likely because it is mainly grown for cash rather than food for home consumption. Banana farmers tend to sell their surplus produce to multiple market options, preferring nearer markets to reduce transportation costs, which is one of the key challenges to marketing. Urban consumers' preferences for cooking and dessert banana are narrow in range and common across different groups. However, their choice of variety in the market is highly associated with prices, resulting in affluent and less affluent consumers eventually eating different varieties for both cooking and dessert banana. This leads to market segments being strongly determined by purchasing power and geographical differences. The study revealed that crop improvement has great potential to improve farmers' livelihoods by addressing production constraints and responding to changing consumer preferences. Diseases such as Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW), Fusarium Wilt, and Banana Bunchy Top Virus remain significant challenges to production. Many landrace cultivars with preferred traits are low yielding and susceptible to these diseases. Moreover, there are insufficient crop development capacities at RAB, which has resulted in no release of improved varieties for cooking banana for a long time. With little effort, Rwanda can benefit from breeding achievements that have been made in the region recently. However, this requires better regional collaboration, as well as financial and technical support for crop development work in Rwanda. This includes development of a strategy (including methodological framework) on how to prioritize, design, and involve different value chain actors in the introduction, testing, and evaluation of new germplasms

Jobs in the circular bioeconomy under scrutiny: The challenging reality of compost production in Rwanda

Today, most African countries have dysfunctional municipal waste management system, negatively impacting the environment and human health. However, as most of this waste is recyclable, informal actors are making their income out of the collection/sorting of waste. Accounting for the risks involved in waste manipulation, it is important to ensure decent working conditions for those recycling it. This study focuses on biowaste recycling in Rwanda, a Circular Economy leader in Africa, with the purpose of: (i) characterizing the working conditions of waste recyclers along the definition of ‘decent work’ and (ii) assessing workers’ satisfaction and its determinants. We surveyed 63 workers employed in three compost production and three biowaste processing companies. Our results show that the work can be considered relatively decent compared to national references, except for insufficient social protections and occupational safety. Workers reported being rather satisfied with their jobs, although our analyses of covariance showed that workers employed in composting were significantly less satisfied than the others. These findings highlight the importance of household-level waste separation for improving not only worker safety, but also nutrient recovery. Further research should investigate how to push forward waste sorting at the household level and improve worker safety (SDG 8) without negatively affecting the women currently employed in waste sorting at the company level (SDG 5)

Jobs in the circular bioeconomy under scrutiny: The challenging reality of compost production in Rwanda

Today, most African countries have dysfunctional municipal waste management system, negatively impacting the environment and human health. However, as most of this waste is recyclable, informal actors are making their income out of the collection/sorting of waste. Accounting for the risks involved in waste manipulation, it is important to ensure decent working conditions for those recycling it. This study focuses on biowaste recycling in Rwanda, a Circular Economy leader in Africa, with the purpose of: (i) characterizing the working conditions of waste recyclers along the definition of ‘decent work’ and (ii) assessing workers’ satisfaction and its determinants. We surveyed 63 workers employed in three compost production and three biowaste processing companies. Our results show that the work can be considered relatively decent compared to national references, except for insufficient social protections and occupational safety. Workers reported being rather satisfied with their jobs, although our analyses of covariance showed that workers employed in composting were significantly less satisfied than the others. These findings highlight the importance of household-level waste separation for improving not only worker safety, but also nutrient recovery. Further research should investigate how to push forward waste sorting at the household level and improve worker safety (SDG 8) without negatively affecting the women currently employed in waste sorting at the company level (SDG 5).ISSN:2772-655