Search

In many parts of the world, including Cameroon, mycotoxin contamination of groundnuts remains a major constraint affecting their use as food. Understanding the contributing factors is an essential intervention to reduce contamination and people's exposure to these harmful toxins. The aim of this research was to identify the factors associated with the knowledge, perceptions, and postharvest practices of groundnut farmers in three production basins in Cameroon. Data were collected through surveys and analyzed using descriptive methods and logistic regression models. The results show that groundnut farmers are little aware of the existence of mycotoxins (12%) and totally unaware of the existence of aflatoxins (100%). Only 7.1% of these farmers are aware of the effects of mycotoxins on consumer health. After evaluation, the large majority of farmers scored poor marks for knowledge (86%) and practice (98.7%) in the management of mould and mycotoxins in groundnuts. Knowledge of mycotoxins was positively associated with the level of education [OR = 3.42; (95%-IC: 1.00–16.00); p < 0.05 ] and region [OR = 4.49; (95%-IC: 1.09–20.3); p < 0.05 ]. Farmers' good practices were linked to their production experience [OR = 6.06, (95% CI: 0.91-18.4), p = 0.035 ]. The use of mouldy groundnut for feed was associated with age [OR = 3.34, (95% CI: 1.14–10.2), p = 0.03 ], sex [OR = 0. 43, (IC-95%: 1.14–1.05), p = 0.026 ], marital status [OR = 0.35, (IC-95%: 0.14–0.79), p = 0.015 ], and production region [OR = 0.27, (IC-95%: 0.13–0.56)]. In conclusion, groundnut farmers had insufficient knowledge of mycotoxins, no knowledge of aflatoxins, and suboptimal handling and storage practices for this commodity. This contributes to increasing the risk of exposure for the population and requires mitigation measures, including awareness campaigns on mycotoxins, specifically aflatoxins, and capacity building for farmers in terms of storage and postharvest management of foodstuffs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to evaluate the use of agricultural waste as carriers in the bioformulation of two plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR), Bacillus thuringiensis B9 and Bacillus pacificus B11 isolated from the tomato rhizosphere, and to determine the effect of different carriers and storage temperatures on bacterial survival. Three carriers, namely palm nut shell biochar, coffee pulp and soil, were inoculated with one of the strains, dehydrated and stored at ambient and refrigeration temperatures (4 °C). Bacterial survival was evaluated for 150 days at 30-day intervals. The results showed that the number of bacterial cells present in the bioformulations decreased progressively with storage time at room temperature, but at refrigeration temperature, the bacterial population initially decreased before increasing until reaching its maximum population at 90 days and gradually decreasing afterward. Although the coffee pulp and biochar carriers stored at 4 °C retained the viability of the bacterial strains as well as possible, the formulations stored at room temperature also remained viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]