Simple and affordable test kit
Scientists at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), have devised a fast, simple and affordable test kit for detecting naturally occurring and potentially deadly poison (aflatoxin) that infects crops (a common fungus that makes them unfit for consumption or export.)
Easy growth
Aflatoxin is produced by a fungus that can easily grow on many crops including common food crops like maize, groundnut, sorghum, and cassava.
It can infect them both in the field and after harvest, while they are being stored in grain bins and elevators.
Lower expenditure
A new detection kit developed by ICRISAT has changed the situation by cutting the cost of testing crops for African farmers.
It is available as a small, simple kit that can be used even for most remote rural farms to monitor grains and nuts and improve storage techniques to avoid serious contaminations.
The end result is safer products for consumers and higher returns for African farmers.
“We have put another strong weapon in the hands of poor African farmers to fight a problem that was making it particularly hard for agricultural products to get fair treatment in international markets,” said Dr. William Dar, director general of ICRISAT.
Rapid detection
The test uses what scientists call an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or ELISA test to rapidly detect the presence of aflatoxin.
Many countries reject agriculture imports exceeding certain levels of aflatoxin, costing African farmers millions of dollars each year in lost sales.
People who consume the contaminated food can get sick, as the toxin can cause potentially fatal problems in the liver and intestines. For more details visit www.cgiar.org
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