Koppert Biological Systems (K) has won the tender to distribute Aflasafe- a chemical that is used to suppress aflatoxin in grains.
The firm, headquartered in Netherlands with a subsidiary in Kenya, won the tender through competitive bidding conducted by Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organisation (Kalro).
It is the first firm to win this tender following the official launch of the Aflasafe manufacturing plant in Machakos.
Agriculture Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri announced in September that the government will spend Sh2 billion in giving farmers access to this chemical.
“We have won the tender and we will be charged with the responsibility of distributing Aflasafe across the country,” said Mr Charles Macharia, General Manager Koppert Biological Systems (Kenya).
Mr Macharia said the firm will work directly with distributors and farmers.
“We have a wide network in Kenya and this will make it easier for us to distribute Aflasafe,” he said during an interview.
In 2015 Kalro and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) established a plant that manufactures the chemical, which was named Aflasafe KE01.
Kenya is the second country in the continent to have such a plant, after Nigeria.
Aflasafe KE01, when applied to maize three weeks before flowering, reduces the aflatoxin contamination in the crop by 70 percent.
Last month a number of peanuts and popular maize flour brands were banned from the shelves by Kenya Bureau of Standards after it was found to have more than the required levels of aflatoxin but they have so far been cleared after complying.
Authorities in Kenya allow up to the maximum of 10 parts per billion as the limit for the cancer causing aflatoxin that is mainly harboured in grains.
Consuming food that is contaminated with this fungi exposes children to stunted growth with scientists arguing that it can be linked to the cancer of the liver.
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