Pests

: 10 July 2018; Hits: 8322

International research organization warns of killer chemicals in Kenya’s milk, meat and maize

The International Livestock Research Institute last month released a research showing high levels of aflatoxin in Kenyan foods such as meat, milk and maize.

The ILRI study established that Kenya had aflatoxin levels of between 0.02 parts per billion (ppb) to 9661 ppb with positive samples ranging from 75-100 per cent.

The study revealed that 72 per cent of milk sampled from dairy farmers across the country had aflatoxins. In this, 84 per cent of the milk came from large and medium scale farmers. 99 per cent of pasteurized milk in the market had aflatoxins which exceeded the Food and Agriculture Organization’s limit of 50 parts per trillion.

The survey further showed that 25-100 per cent of feed in the farms exceeded required five ppb while 87-100 per cent of feeds bought from retailers exceeded the limit. 20-100 per cent of feeds from manufacturers were above the required 5 ppb.

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A loader carrying a sack of maize

Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by a fungus that grows on certain crops, such as maize and groundnuts. Consumption of high levels of aflatoxin can be fatal, and chronic exposure has been linked to liver cancer, suppressed immune response, and child stunting. Maize is a staple food in Kenya and is a major source of aflatoxin exposure in the country.

In 2004 for instance 125 Kenyans died after consuming aflatoxin-infested food. In 2016, agricultural experts and the Kenya Bureau of Standards warned of presence of the deadly toxin in food such as maize flour and milk sold in supermarkets across the country.

The number of people dying from cancer thus has doubled over the last five years from 20,000 to 40,000 according to the Kenya Network of Cancer Organisations.

Last year, cancer was the third leading cause of major deaths in the country behind malaria and pneumonia accounting for 16,953 deaths according to the Economic Survey 2018.

Farmers can control aflatoxin in maize by applying a biological control of aflatoxins, aflasafe.

Aflasafe is sold at between Sh1,240 and Sh2,070 for every 10kg pack in certified agro-vets depending on the county. A 2.5kg pack is also available for small holder farmers.

Aflasafe, which is a research product from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), prevents aflatoxin causing fungi from accessing the maize cobs. The protection starts from the field up to the store.

Application ahead of maize flowering ensures that friendly fungi are deposited in the farm to occupy and protect the maize cobs.

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: 05 July 2018; Hits: 6056

Opinion: Vaccinating livestock against East Coast fever increases incomes of smallholder farmers

Goat vaccination in Kenya

. Vaccinating goats against peste des petits ruminants in Kenya. Photo:Martin Karimi

Wide-scale vaccination of cattle against East Coast fever would remove one of the biggest obstacles facing smallholders and herders trying to increase their meat and milk productivity.

Endemic in 12 countries in eastern, central and southern Africa, the disease, transmitted by parasite-infected ticks, causes annual losses estimated at more than USD300 million and more than one million cattle deaths.

While the vaccine was developed in the 1970s by the now Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), recent research-for- development approaches have accelerated its uptake and demonstrated how its use is driving increased incomes for small-scale livestock farmers in Kenya and Tanzania.

The vaccine, employing what is known as the ‘infection and treatment method’, involves infecting cattle with a ‘cocktail’ of live parasites and simultaneously treating them with a long-lasting antibiotic.

This ‘live vaccine’ method generates life-long immunity to East Coast fever. Expensive, time consuming and difficult to produce on a large scale, it was not until 1996 that the first commercial batch was released by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

While ILRI produced another batch in 2008, uptake was slower than expected, with only 400,000 vaccinations by 2012.

With a range of donors, a consortium of organizations set out to enhance access to the vaccine among livestock keepers in Kenya and Tanzania.

ILRI has worked closely with the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) to provide training and other support to livestock vaccinators, who in turn have immunized approximately another 1.3 million cattle against East Coast fever in both smallholder dairy and pastoral farming systems since 2012.

With demand rising rapidly, ILRI and GALVmed supported the Malawi-based African Union Centre for Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases in producing two more batches. GALVmed expects a further one million cattle will be vaccinated by the end of 2018.

ILRI-led research in Kenya with 250 cattle keepers, vaccine distributors and veterinary staff found that vaccination against East Coast fever has led to a significant drop in cattle deaths, from 50% of cattle in affected herds to less than 10%, as well as to reduced household expenditure on regular acaricide spraying (anti-parasitic treatment) to keep the animals free of ticks.

Healthier vaccinated animals produced more milk, fetched higher market prices and displayed increased immunity against other infections.

The money and time saved on tick spraying allowed women to increase spending on household essentials (clothing, food, health, education) and to participate in women’s credit cooperatives.

In Tanzania, a study on the impacts of the use of this vaccine found that 167 small-scale farmers who had vaccinated their animals reduced expenditure on acaricide spraying by 75%.

Other benefits reported included increased milk yields, reduced water usage, increased manure with which to fertilize croplands and better traction for pulling ploughs and carts from healthier animals.

Scientists, including ILRI and partner researchers, have taken a two-pronged approach to East Coast fever vaccine deployment and development; both have made substantial progress.

The first approach focuses on decreasing wastage by reducing the number of doses per vaccination straw from 40 to 10. Once thawed and diluted, each straw needs to be used within four hours or discarded.

This can be challenging as small-scale farmers have few animals. By reducing wastage, this method is expected to drive down the cost of vaccination per animal.

The second approach harnesses the latest advances in biotechnology to develop proof-of-concept for a next-generation vaccine based on parasite molecules rather than live parasites, which should make it safer, cheaper and easier to manufacture and administer.

By Henry Kiara, scientist, epidemiologist at ILRI

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: 03 July 2018; Hits: 8179

Roasting soil helps deal with bacterial wilt

soil roasting Soil heating system.

Bacterial wilt is one of the soil-borne diseases that attack tomatoes, potatoes, pepper, capsicum, among other solanaceae family crops.

Bacterial wilt causes massive loses and there is no effective remedy against this infection. Farmers and agribusiness companies are roasting soil to kill the Ralstonia solanacearum bacteria before growing their tomatoes.

Wycliffe Obwoge, an agronomist, says massive roasting soil is not an easy task that is why farmers are picking a few kilos of soil which they steam for hours.

“Controlling bacterial wilt is not easy. But exposing the soil to high temperatures would kill the bacteria. But a farmer must take soul to experts to test and confirm indeed that it bacterial wilt has infested the farm,” he says.

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This method is most appropriate given that farmers are moving to planting bags, which will prevent the soil from contamination.

The soil will remain sterile and growing for two seasons would need another sterilization.

Using a wooden movable box of about 2m by 2m by 2m, a farmer can lay perforated metallic pipes at the base. They will boil water from a drum and direct the steam into the pipes at the base of the wooden box.

The steam will rise from the pipes heating the soil for about four hours. Exposing the soil to more than 70 degrees Celsius would kill the bacteria and other useful micro-organisms.

If the farmer intended to use organic manure, it should be included in the soil, to avoid re-contamination.

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