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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