A brief official ceremony was held on 6 May at the Conference Room of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to hand over rapid aflatoxin test equipment to the Ghana Commodity Exchange (GCX) to improve Aflatoxin Management and Control (AMC) in Ghana. The equipment consisted of three Aflatoxin test scanners (Raptor), 15 boxes of Reveal Q+ for aflatoxin test kits, and 425 raptor vortex cartridges. In addition, five GCX staff were trained to use this equipment for aflatoxin testing. This was part of a project grant support from AGRA to IITA to provide the Technical Assistance Program on Aflatoxin Management and Control (AMC-TAP) to the Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (DAES-MoFA) and the GCX.
The project aims to catalyze and sustain an inclusive agricultural transformation by improving food safety and security through institutionalized systems for aflatoxin management and control. Other project deliverables include training 500 Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) as trainers and 25 GCX warehouse staff on AMC.
The partnership between IITA and the GCX dates back to 2019, when the two organizations signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on issues relating to AMC, including advocacy, awareness creation, training, and advisory support on aflatoxin test equipment.