ROAD MAP FOR MYCOTOXIN PROGRAMME AS ADOPTED BY MEMBERS AT THE MEETING HELD ON OCTOBER 23, 2012.

1. ROAD MAP FOR MYCOTOXIN PROGRAMME AS ADOPTED BY MEMBERS AT THE MEETING HELD ON OCTOBER 23, 2012. By Dr. Anthony Negedu, Food and Beverages Division, Agriculture and Agro-Allied Department, RMRDC Headquarters, N0 17, AguiyiIronsi Street, Maitama District, PMB 232, Garki, Abuja. Tel: 08055240599, E-mail:tonyneg2000@yahoo.com

2. Mycotoxins have the greatest consequences on human and animal health, agriculture, industry, trade, commerce and their economics. • 9 African countries including Nigeria will have the export of their nuts, fruit and cereals reduced by 64% annually due to mycotoxin contamination and will cost $674 million in trade annually.

3. According to the World Development Report (1993), diseases caused by mycotoxins lead to reduced life expectancy in developing countries. • The varied and prevailing weather conditions, in combination with the agricultural and cultural practices often employed by operators in the entire agro-value chain in Nigeria, favour the infection, colonization, growth and development of moulds/fungi and subsequent production of metabolites of fungal origin (mycotoxins) in agro-commodities and allied products.

4. Thepoor post harvest technologies and storage systems in Nigeria and most developing countries make the control of food safety issues and food distribution more difficult.   • Individual efforts over the years have not yielded the desired results. • There is need for collaboration to reduce, eliminate, prevent, and control the contamination of agro-materials and allied products by mycotoxins and other contaminants. NAME OF THE COLLABORATION • “National Committee on Mycotoxins in Agro-Raw Materials and Allied Products”

5. Target / Goal • The target of the programme is for Nigeria to achieve 2-4µg/kg of those significant mycotoxins contaminating raw materials and allied products. Objectives: The objectives of the programme are to: • Determine the incidence, prevalence and levels of mycotoxins in commodities in the agro-ecological zones of Nigeria. • Formulate and prioritize strategies aimed at reducing, eliminating and controlling mycotoxin contamination in commodities of Nigerian origin. • Enhance competitiveness of Nigeria’s export commodities at the International markets through ensuring that the regulatory limits are attained.

6. Provide home-generated empirical data on the occurrence and prevalence of mycotoxins in agro-raw materials and allied products in Nigeria for the purpose of establishing maximum legislative limits for selected mycotoxins considered critical to agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, health and their economics. • Build and strengthen necessary capacities in area of analysis, reduction, elimination, prevention and control of mycotoxins as well as other contaminants for food quality control systems and capacity building in the country.

7. Terms of Reference (TOR). • The committee has the following terms of reference. The committee will: • Determine the number of mycotoxins of health and economic significance that should be efficiently and effectively addressed under the programme. • Conduct a mycotoxins-mapping in the agro-ecological zones of Nigeria. • Produce a technically feasible and viable work plan with timeline for implementation of mycotoxin reduction programme. • Organize and host enlightenment workshops, seminars and symposia on mycotoxins.

8. Determine the role of each of the collaborating bodies on the programme • Determine the necessary sub-committees to be put in place to make the main committee efficient and effective in the implementation of the programme. • Source funds for the programme/projects • Determine appropriate strategies for the implementation of the programme. • Produce a compendium of R & Ds on mycotoxins (already conducted and on-going) in knowledge centers across the country.

9. Overall Benefits • Better human and animal health • reduced economic losses • more education of the local population of Nigerians on mycotoxins, • higher family income, • better health for • new jobs created, • improved child nutrition etc.

10. Sustainability: The programme will operate on the budgetary allocation of all the key collaborating organizations as well as the voluntary assistance from NGOs and other development partners (both national and international) with similar aspirations/objectives.

11. Problemsstatement In Nigeria and Africa: • limited awareness on mycotoxin contamination. • The knowledge of technologies to reduce mycotoxin contamination and the negative effects is limited • There are no cost–effective technologies to reduce the risk of human and animal exposure to mycotoxin contamination.

12. Currently, no cost–effective procedures that can combat mycotoxins after they have been produced in the commodities. • There is insufficient home-generated data on mycotoxins to form the baseline to plan or prioritize research, safeguarding human, animal health and economic losses & establishing maximum legislative /regulatory limit.

13. Implementation Strategy: • Conduct extensive awareness workshops on mycotoxins in the country • Conduct training workshop on mycotoxin prevention, reduction and control • Conduct a mycotoxin mapping in the agro-ecological zones of Nigeria.

14. Conduct mycotoxin surveillance in the country • Embark on institutional strengthening for analysis, reduction, elimination, prevention and control for capacity building. • Establish bilateral and multilateral collaborations on capacity building, funding and provision of state-of-the-art facilities for analysis in national and regional uses.

15. Recommended Sub-Committees In order for the National Committed to be efficient and effective in the implementation of programmes/projects, three sub-committees are recommended: • Technical Sub-Committee • Finance Sub-Committee and • Awareness and advocacy Sub-Committee.

16. Membership of Technical Sub-committee • NAFDAC • MSN • ICFES • SON • IITA • RMRDC • FMH • FMARD • ARCN • NSPRI • ACADEMIA

17. Functions of Technical Sub-Committee • Oversee project implementation and provide technical backstopping to the national committee • Shall be responsible for preparing budget of the various projects and programmes of the national committee • Provide technical guidance to the national committee • The committee will be chaired by NAFDAC with SON as alternate chair.

18. Membership of Finance Sub-Committee • CBN • FMSL • ASCE • NEPC • NEXIM BANK • FMARD

19. FMH • NAFDAC • RMRDC • ARCN • IITA • MSN

20. Functions of Finance Sub-Committee • Shall source funds for various projects adopted by the National Committee • Shall seek collaboration with development partners (local and international) on training, facilities etc • The committee will be chaired by CBN with RMRDC as alternate chair.

21. Awareness and advocacy Sub-Committee • MSN • ICFES • FMSL • CBN • NEPC • RMRDC • NEXIM BANK • ASCE

22. AFAN • NEXIM Bank • NASSI • NASME • AFAN • NSPRI

23. Functions of Awareness and advocacy Sub-Committee • Shall conduct awareness, training and workshop in collaboration with other stakeholders. • The committee will be chaired by MSN with NEPC as alternate chair.

24. Work Plan • Convene a meeting of Chief Executives Officers (CEOs) of relevant key organizations and signing of MOU on the subject matter. • Conduct extensive awareness workshop on mycotoxins in the country • Conduct training workshop on mycotoxin prevention, reduction and control. • Conduct mycotoxin mapping in the agro-ecological zones of Nigeria.

25. Conduct mycotoxin surveillance in the country • Establish bilateral and multilateral co-operations with respect to trainings, funding and providing state-of-the-art facilities for mycotoxin analysis and control in the country for national and regional uses. • Embark on institutional strengthening of those institutions (NAFDAC, NSPRI, SON, ASCE, LRI IPAN, NRCRI, MICROBIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY laboratories in some universities and research institutes) with potentials for analysis, reduction, elimination, prevention and control of mycotoxins and other contaminants in the country for the purpose of capacity building.

26. CONCLUSION • Mycotoxin contamination might not be completely avoided, However, high levels of exposure of people to food-borne mycotoxins is a serious threat to public health and it is a developmental issue which embraces childhood survival, immune system dysfunction, economic and human resource drain due to cancers and food security challenges. The benefits of mycotoxin control and reduction are enormous. It will confer international trade advantages and offer long-term health benefits to the local population. Therefore, the benefits of reducing the negative impacts of mycotoxin contamination in foods and feeds cannot be over emphasized.

27. ORGANIZATIONS IN ATTENDANCE AT THE FIRST MEETINGON AUGUST 8, 2012. • NAFDAC • SON • NESG. • FMARD • FMSL • ICFES - AN NGO • CBN • IITA • MSN

28. FCDA • FMH • NEPC

29. ORGANIZATIONS IN ATTENDANCE AT THE 2ND MEETINGON OCTOBER 23, 2012. • NAFDAC • SON • NESG • FMARD • FMSL • ICFES- AN NGO • MSN • FCDA • FMH • RGTIL LTD • ARCN

30. ABSENT WITH APOLOGY AT SECOND MEETING: • International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) • Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) • Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) • Nigerian Export Promotion Bank (NEPC)

31. ORGANIZATIONS NEEDED TO BE ON BOARD • NSPRI • AFAN • WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE • ASAN