Makerere University’s Senior nutritionist Prof. Archileo Kaaya has been selected for the African Union (AU) Award 2018 as an Agent of change for Aflatoxin Control in Africa by the Third Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA). Prof. Kaaya will be recognized during the Third PACA Partnership Platform Meeting to be held from 2nd to 4th October 2018, in Dakar, Senegal.

A letter from PACA Secretariat written to Prof. Achileo Kaaya reads in part:

“We are very pleased to inform you that you have been selected as the recipient of the African Union recognition of agents of change for aflatoxin control Africa in the category of Research and Technology.

You will be receiving your certificate of recognition from the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the AU at the Third PACA Partnership Platform Meeting, 2 to 4 October 2018, in Dakar, Senegal.

The response to the call for nomination of candidates was remarkable with dozens of candidates from across Africa nominated under five categories. Congratulations!”

Archileo Kaaya is a Professor and the Head, Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, under the School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bio engineering in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).

He holds a Bachelor of Science (Agriculture), Makerere University, 1988;  a Master of Science from the University of Florida, USA, 1995 and a PhD, Makerere University/Virginia Tech, USA, 2005.

His area of specialty is Mycotoxin Management in foods and feeds and Post harvest handling of fresh produce.

Kaaya has been working for Makerere University as a Professor, Lecturer and Researcher in the field of Food Science and Nutrition for 27 years. He has over 35 Research items, 5,360 Reads and 368 Citations. He has done a lot of research on aflatoxins.

Aflatoxins are harmful substances produced by fungi in food.

In a bid to save lives that would be lost to liver cancer and a host of many diseases as well as disorders caused by aflatoxins, the AU Commission enacted  a continental scorecard to help monitor the progress made by different countries in controlling aflatoxins.

This move was announced by Dr. Amare Ayalew, the Program Manager of the AU’s Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) at the Second Partners Platform Meeting (PPM) organized by PACA in Entebbe Uganda in October 2016.

The plan for monitoring and evaluation of aflatoxin control followed a June 2016outbreak in Tanzania that claimed the lives of some citizens.

Outbreaks come as a surprise for many due to lack of information. The patients have symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, ascites and jaundice, which are similar to those associated with acute aflatoxin poisoning.

Prof. Kaaya has conducted research and authored/co-authored a number of articles including:

• Summary of Gender Report for Peanut CRSP VT 54: Gender issues in Aflatoxin Incidence and Control in Peanut Production in Uganda
• The effect of delayed harvest on moisture content, insect damage, moulds and aflatoxin contamination of maize in Mayuge district of Uganda
• Peanut Aflatoxin Levels on Farms and in Markets of Uganda
• Fungal Microflora Causing Maize Ear Rots in Uganda and Associated Aflatoxins
• The effect of storage time and agroecological zone on mould incidence and aflatoxin contamination of maize from traders in Uganda
• Factors Affecting Aflatoxin Contamination of Harvested Maize in the Three Agroecological Zones of Uganda
• Incidence and Severity of Maize Ear Rots and Factors Responsible for Their Occurrence in Uganda
• Factors associated with fumonisin contamination of maize in Uganda
• Effect of solar drying on the quality and acceptability of jackfruit leather
• Mould and Aflatoxin Contamination of Dried Cassava Chips in Eastern Uganda: Association with Traditional Processing and Storage Practices
• Drying Maize Using Biomass-Heated Natural Convection Dryer Improves Grain Quality During Storage
• Fatty acid composition of seed oils from selected wild plants of Kahuzi-Biega National Park and surroundings, Democratic Republic of Congo
• Oil content and physicochemical characteristics of some wild oilseed plants from Kivu region Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
• Diversity of Gibberella fujikuroi Species Complex Isolated from Maize Produced in Uganda
• Realization of the right to adequate food and the nutritional status of land evictees: A case for mothers/caregivers and their children in rural Central Uganda
• Predictors of Stunting in Children Aged 6 to 59 Months: A Case–Control Study in Southwest Uganda
• Nutrition, hygiene, and stimulation education to improve growth, cognitive, language, and motor development among infants in Uganda: A cluster‐randomized trial
• Risk factors for stunted growth among children aged 6–59 months in rural Uganda
• The Spirit Project: Strengthening the Capacities for Fostering Innovation Along Potato Value Chains in East Africa
• A Review of Production, Post-Harvest Handling and Marketing of Sweetpotatoes in Kenya and Uganda
• Contribution of forest foods to dietary intake and their association with household food insecurity: A cross-sectional study in women from rural Cameroon
• Shift in performance of food safety management systems in supply chains: Case of green bean chain in Kenya versus hot pepper chain in Uganda
• Mid-infrared spectroscopy for discrimination and classification of Aspergillus spp. contamination in peanuts
• Assessing the Status of Food Safety Management Systems for Fresh Produce Production in East Africa: Evidence from Certified Green Bean Farms in Kenya and Noncertified Hot Pepper Farms in Uganda
• Characterization of Invasion of Genus Aspergillus on Peanut Seeds Using FTIR-PAS
• Nutrients and bioactive compounds content of Baillonella toxisperma, Trichoscypha abut and Pentaclethra macrophylla from Cameroon
• Composition of Fatty Acids and Tocopherols Content in Oilseeds of Six Wild Selected Plants from Kahuzi-Biega National Park/DR. Congo
• Fatty Acids and Tocopherols Content in Fractionated Oils from Five Wild Oilseed Plants Native to Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Kivu-DR Congo
• Farmers, peanuts, and aflatoxins in Uganda: A gendered approach
• Dynamics of Fusarium and fumonisins in maize during storage – A case of the traditional storage structures commonly used in Uganda
• Potential for Fumonisin Production by the Strains of Gibberella fujikuroi Species Complex Isolated from Maize Produced in Uganda
• Diversity of Gibberella fujikuroi Species Complex Isolated from Maize Produced in Uganda
• Effect of Solarization on Mould Incidence, Moisture Content and Germination Percentage of Maize From Farmers and Traders in Mayuge District of Uganda

Prof. Kaaya is the third CAES Professor to receive an outstanding award this year. Prof. Noble Banadda recently won the Pius XI Gold Medal Gold medal 2018 while Prof. Phinehas Tukamuhabwa won the Uganda Biotechnology and Biosafesty Consortium (UBBC) Research Award 2018.

The CAES community celebrates as congratulatory messages continue to flow in.

“Congratulations Prof. Kaaya for this recognition. Thanks for flying Makerere's banner high. As CAES we continue counting God's blessings.” CAES Principal, Prof. Bernard Bashaasha posted.

“Congratulations Prof. Kaaya. You are one of the few scientists who have consistently pursued  your field of research and avoided pastoralism brought about by the winds of change  in sources of global funding.

This is something that can be emulated by the young scientists especially energised by this continental achievement”, Dr. Fred Kabi wrote.

“Prof. Kaaya, Congratulations for such a great achievement. Your success is our passion. You have made us proud and may the Lord grant you more,” said Dr. Stephen Lwasa

Report compiled by;
Jane Anyango
Principal Communication Officer, CAES