Urban Farmer is committed to offering appropriate solutions to its customers to enable them to farm better.
Mycotoxins are a huge economic and commercial concern for feed millers and farmers alike because they affect the nutritive value of the ingredients that they contaminate and the productivity of the animals consuming these ingredients through the feed.
The presence and level of contamination with mycotoxins are influenced by season and geography, as well as farming and storage practices. There are hundreds of different mycotoxins, but the toxins recognised as being of greatest concern in Africa are aflatoxin, fumonisin and zearalenone. It is common practice to manage mycotoxin contamination by including a toxin binder in the feed and there are numerous binders on the market with different modes of action and target toxins.
Urban Farmer, through its Nigerian subsidiary UFNG Livestock Solutions, conducted a survey of feeds and ingredients in Nigeria to better understand the current threat and to guide us, and our customers, on the appropriate course of action. The results of the analysis confirmed a very high level of contamination of both the ingredients and the feeds tested, and aflatoxin was identified as being the most prevalent toxin offering the greatest threat.
We are grateful to our customers in Nigeria who supported us by supplying samples, and to Orffa and the team at Primoris in Belgium for assisting us with the analysis and the comprehensive reporting.