With nearly 600 tons of peanuts per year, combined with other materials, the Burkinabè agribusiness company, Innofaso, produces about 2,800 tons of therapeutic food for the management of various forms of malnutrition in children and vulnerable people. For many years, Innofaso imported over 400 tons of its raw material (peanuts) from Argentina. Reversing this trend is now, more than ever, the major objective of our business champion in the peanut sector in the ‘country of the upright men’. However, one of the main challenges related to local supply remains the lack of quality nuts. Indeed, the Burkinabe peanut contains a significant amount of aflatoxin. This makes it non-compliant with the phytosanitary standards of international markets. Faced with this challenge, Innofaso has set up a multi-stakeholder system in order to face the numerous challenges within the peanut sector in order to use local peanuts.
Aflasafe, the miracle solution for aflatoxin-free peanut production in Burkina Faso
Improving the quality of local production
In an effort to replace imported peanuts with local production, Innofaso and 2SCALE have undertaken actions that have reduced the aflatoxin levels in Burkina peanuts and boosted local production to make it competitive. The partnership has facilitated collaboration with local producers by providing technical monitoring and capacity building to ensure the supply of quality peanuts to Innofaso. Approximately 7496 producers have been trained on the technical requirements of peanut production with a particular emphasis on aflatoxin management through the establishment of demonstration plots. Innofaso, according to its CEO Mr. Omar Coulibaly, has set ambitious goals.
Our biggest goal is to be able to use local peanuts for all of our production. It may not be in the immediate future, but our short-term goal is to substitute the import of peanuts from Argentina with local production.
In principle, local production can cover Innofaso's current needs. But local producers are still practicing rudimentary agriculture. However, current market demands make their production incompatible with international standards.
Ms. Bonkoungou Aminata is the Director of APMR (Association Promo Monde Rural), the Business Support Service(BSS) in charge of implementing the partnership's activities. According to her, producer organizations are often not well structured. Also, the lack of training and information means that producers continue with their old production practices. Today, thanks to the Innofaso-2SCALE partnership, the cooperatives are supervised in order to produce peanuts in a contractual system while taking into account the constraints of the company's specifications. She explains:
What is important for us as farmers is that with Innofaso, the market is guaranteed. By requiring low aflatoxin levels in peanuts, farmers are encouraged to use Aflasafe, which many of them did not know about. By going to the farmers with these new technologies, they immediately see additional costs on production. However, today with Innofaso, the use of aflasafe is a prerequisite for selling the crop to the company. Thus, the producers have committed themselves because they now know that these requirements allow them to be more competitive in different markets, both national and international.
Efficiency of aflasafeBF01 against aflatoxin
The results of the first demonstration plots set up in the areas of Léo, Makognadougou, Boussouma and Ouahigouya were more than satisfactory in terms of the information obtained on the efficiency of aflasafeBF01 through biochemical analyses. Aflatoxin levels in the samples collected were between 3.7 parts per billion (ppb) and 4.8 ppb. These results obtained were thus clearly better than the maximum rate recommended by the Innofaso company, which is 10 ppb. Christophe, Innofaso's quality manager, explains:
The aflatoxin levels in the peanut samples analyzed were well below the total aflatoxin levels in the raw material imported from Argentina. These results allowed Innofaso to sign contracts with producers for its local supply.
According to Dr. Neya Adama, plant pathologist and consultant to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the information from this first campaign of Aflasafe use shows that producers have understood that there is no other solution besides Aflasafe to protect their peanuts, and to have aflatoxin levels lower than 2 or 3 ppb during tests. He explained:
The trend on the scientific level is not necessarily to seek 0 Aflatoxin. But we are trying to keep the aflatoxin level below the European standards which are 2 ppb for aflatoxin B1 and 4 ppb for all aflatoxins. If we work well with all the actors by training people, by sensitizing especially the producers, we can progressively have products that meet not only the ECOWAS standards, but the European standards.
As of now, the adoption of this technology by producers has already had its effect on sales. Indeed, with the aflatoxin rate below 4ppb, a first wave of 50 tons has been delivered to Innofaso to the great satisfaction of producers and the company. Ms. Bonkoungou Aminata testifies:
I think Aflasafe came to propel us, to propel our productions, and to bring us to be real competitors on the international market. Currently, some companies like Innofaso are accepting our local productions because we started using Aflasafe.
In conclusion, the CEO of Innofaso reaffirms his satisfaction with the first results of Aflasafe which, for the company, are very reassuring.
When we made the decision to use local peanuts, we were afraid of the Aflatoxin levels we might get. Fortunately, the first deliveries we received, on which Aflasafe had been applied, gave very encouraging results. Achieving aflatoxin levels of less than 4 ppb is really amazing and it meets our specifications perfectly.