Assessing the levels of occurrence of aflatoxin B I in maize and groundnut in selected districts in eastern Uganda

Abstract

Groundnut is a major crop in Uganda, ranking eleventh in production and sixth in area harvested. It’s majorly used as a source of protein and lipids in many areas in Uganda. Maize is the most important cereal in Uganda providing over 40% of the calories consumed in both rural and urban centres. It is grown in every part of the country and direct source of livelihood to over 2 million households. A research was carried out in 2022 in eastern Uganda to determine the most commonly used drying methods and the aflatoxin levels of occurrence in maize and groundnuts. Three districts (Soroti, Iganga and Namutumba), two sub counties per district and four parishes per Sub County were selected, i.e. for Soroti, Gweri subcounty (Telamot, Opucet, Gweri and Omugenya parishes), Arapai sub county (Amoru, Odudui, Arabaka and Dakabela parishes) were selected. For Iganga, Nambale sub county (Nasuti, Muyira, Ilenzi and Nabitinde parishes), Nakalama sub county (Bukaye, Bukoona, Buseyi and Nakalama parishes) were selected and for Namutumba, Bulange sub county (Bulange, Buwaga, Bubutya, Bubutya parishes), Magada subcounty (Iziragobi, Kiwany, Mulama and Kategere parishes) were selected. Farmers were interviewed and samples of both maize and groundnuts were collected. The samples were taken to College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University to determine the aflatoxin B 1 levels of occurence, results showed that most of the samples (88%) tested positive, 100% of the groundnut samples tested positive while 25% of the maize samples tested negative to aflatoxin B 1. Namutumba district recorded more negative samples (18.75%) of both maize and groundnuts while Iganga recorded 12% and Soroti recorded 6%. The most commonly used drying field was bare ground (64.6%) compared to tarpaulin (35.4%), more groundnut farmers used bare ground (75%) compared to maize farmers (54.2%). Of all the districts, Soroti district groundnut farmers were the highest users of bare ground (88%) compared to Iganga (75%) and Namutumba (62.5%). These results can serve as the basis for pre-and postharvest approaches to reduce aflatoxin B 1 contamination in maize and groundnuts in eastern Uganda in order to reduce health risk, avoid reduced production in livestock, and open up export markets.