Preventing Aflatoxin through Farmer Behavior Change For markets? For [home] Nutrition? Or Both?

Transcription

1 Preventing Aflatoxin through Farmer Behavior Change For markets? For [home] Nutrition? Or Both? Serena Stepanovic URC Senior Technical Advisor for Social & Behavior Change

2 Agriculture interventions cannot ensure food security and nutrition without considering food safety. Integrate food safety issues in the whole food value chain (production, post-harvest handling, marketing and consumption) as part of increasing the nutrition sensitivity of agriculture activities. Food and Nutrition Handbook Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.

3 In this table discussion: 1. Brief presentation on USAIDfunded Uganda Production for Improved Nutrition (PIN) project 2. Open learning discussion on preventing aflatoxin Enabling environment Stakeholder roles Crop or country-specific examples Potentially useful or proven SBC tools, messages or approaches

4 Prime: Reco Industries Sub: URC What is the Purpose of Uganda PIN? To reduce the burden of under nutrition among children, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and people living with HIV/AIDS USAID FtF + PEPFAR funded

5 How does Uganda PIN achieve these goals? 100+ clinics provided with RUTF & FBF 21 livelihoods districts 8 OVC districts (4 overlapping) 5,000+ Producer Organization s supported 1. Food Production: Increasing local production of therapeutic and supplementary foods to reduce malnutrition; 2. Supply Chain: Strengthening the supply and distribution system for therapeutic and supplementary foods within public and private sectors in Uganda; 3. Livelihoods Team: Improving the economic well-being of households of small scale farmers through livelihoods empowerment; 4. Orphan & Vulnerable Child Support: Expanding access to essential services for Orphans and Vulnerable Children

6 What are Key Livelihoods Activities? A focus on 4 Major Activities Activity #1: Farmer Field Schools Activity #2: Demo Plots Activity #3: Kitchen Gardens Activity #4: Market Linkages The University Research Co., LLC provides technical leadership for all Livelihoods activities

7 Where are PIN s agricultural livelihoods activities?

8 What is our operating Context?

9 How do these 4 activities relate to our key audiences? Area Cooperative Enterprises Activity #4 (Market Linkages) Producer Organizations Activities 1-4 PO Clusters Formal, extensive business partnerships Lead Farmers Nutrition Champions Other PO Members (smallholder farmers) Rural, Small-holder Farmers 21 districts Male & Female Activity #2 (FFS) Activity #3 (Kitchen Gardens)

10 Uganda PIN Agricultural Social & Behavior change Action Cards

11 About the PIN Agr SBC Action Cards Designed to reinforce 22 specific production, PHH and farming as a business practices that have been a challenge for PO members PIN aims to drive uptake in these practices during FY17 Complements the PIN nutrition SBC action cards Supports the multi-channel SBC effort Radio FFS Demo plots PO visits One action card addressing aflatoxins in groundnuts

12 Aflatoxin linked to: Stunting (CU3)/slower growth & productivity (livestock) Weakened immune response Crop & market value/share loss Increased cost of doing business Aflatoxin & Control in Uganda (2010 & beyond) Groundnuts = primary crop focus Uganda (PACA pilot) conducting a country-led food safety system and aflatoxin situation analysis and action planning. Building the evidence base on existing aflatoxin prevalence, legislation, policy and regulations, management practices and other existing control mechanisms that can effectively inform interventions. Supported by aflatoxin working team for NARO- Uganda Robust research agenda w/ Makere Univ. (Food Technology & Nutrition) UNBS has set AF regulatory standards for grains (10 ppb); harmonized M.C (EA Standard,13.5%) Aflatoxin = Class 1 carcinogen (liver)

13 A farm-level Communication Challenge Making a compelling case for preventing what s unseen, has no taste, and has no smell

14 Other elements of the SBC framework include: Baseline practice rate (per Sept 2014 data) Uganda PIN s SBC Framework: Preventing Aflatoxin in groundnuts Ideal Behavior Statement Farmers who are members of Uganda PIN-supported Producer Organizations, and who are growing groundnuts, take steps to reduce aflatoxin contamination by avoiding damage to groudnuts during harvesting and drying, keeping groundnuts free of excess moisture after properly drying them and removing all shriveled, moldy or broken groundnuts before placing whole groundnuts in storage bags. Message Delivery Channels FFS session Demo plot session LF follow up visit during PO mtg Uganda PIN SBC radio FFS Training reference Behavior Priority Order (Select Top ~10 behaviors) Current Monitoring of Practice (tools, frequency) Average Stage of Change among PO members Barriers & Motivators Proposed Lead Farmer Key Message Awareness Barriers: Availability of drying materials, inadequate storage structures, adulteration of grain by adding water to increase weight. Motivators: Price premium for required minimum aflatoxin levels, desire to leave healthy lives Farmers, now that you know more about what causes aflatoxin contamination in your groundnuts, take steps to reduce this unsafe fungus. Keep your groundnuts from getting wet again after you've harvested, cleaned and properly dried them. Keep your groundnuts in their shells until you are ready to eat them. and in the meantime, store your groundnuts in a dry, shaded place that has good air flow.

15 Card #17: On Aflatoxin prevention

16 SBC Agr Action Card For each action card Pretest Questions Comprehension: Lead Farmers were asked to describe what they saw on action card Motivation: Lead Farmers were asked whether the illustration on action card #1 would make them want to do anything and what that would be. Messaging and Approaches: Lead Farmers were asked how they currently communicate the practice within their Producer Organization Overall Relevance (who should use this?) Acceptance (anything offensive?) Attractiveness (first impressions?) Improvement/s (design changes?)

17 Pretest results 66 respondents Criteria/District Bugiri Pallisa Moyo Kiryadong o Kasese Age/ Sex: Up to 34 years/ Male Up to 34 years/ Female & above/ Male & above/ Female Total Role All All All All All Value Chain Experience All All All All All 5 districts 6 FGDs The main messages communicated during meetings was based on explaining the benefits of harvesting in the due time and proper storage. In Bugiri and Pallisa District --- the groups were able to extensively discuss the advantages of drying the ground nuts --- "avoid infections which can be poisonous to our customers" FGD Bugiri. "The Ground nuts which are not well dry have a bitter taste" - FGD Pallisa. But the word aflatoxin in particular was not mentioned by any FGD.

18 Recommended SBC Messaging/Key Promise Link action card key promise to: Avoiding contamination (aflatoxin light ) Making harvesting easier More safely storing groundnuts Messaging Theme: Collective Responsibility for better results The teeth that bite together; chew the meat (Translated local saying referenced within FGDs in Bugiri, Kiryadongo and Kasese Districts especially)

19 Discussion

20 Experience Sharing Ex: PACA s Impact & Solutions paper Evidence for Best Practices (Crop vs livestock production/processing/storage/trade, etc. best practices) Stakeholder Roles (regulatory, donors & IPs, gov t/private testing, market actors, farming households, gender implications for control) Implementation Approaches (throughout the production/phh process) Ex: Pushpull cropping system in Uganda SBC tools - Mycotoxin media campaign in Tanzania (2012) - Shamba Shape Up TV in Kenya: Series 4, Episode 2 (2014)

21 Thank you!