Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has called on farmers and food handlers to always carry out periodic examination of their products, to avoid fungal contamination in order to protect public health, and secure good market for Nigeria’s agro-commodities.
The minister made this call at a one-day stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop on the effects of mycotoxins on agricultural commodities, health and trade.
The minister said, “It is imperative for both farmers and governmental agencies to adapt a better method to prevent fungal contamination of agricultural commodities during growing period, storage, handling, processing and transportation.”
Lokpobiri said the risk of mycotoxins may affect growth performance and could be hazardous to consumers.
by reducing the quality of products and its market value, thereby resulting in commodity rejection in the international market.