Mycotoxins contamination in some agricultural food commodities seriously impact human and animal health and reduce the commercial value of crops. Mycotoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi that contaminate agricultural commodities pre- or postharvest. Africa is one of the continents where environmental, agricultural and storage conditions of food commodities are conducive of Aspergillus fungi infection and aflatoxin biosynthesis. This paper reviews the commodity-wise aetiology and contamination process of aflatoxins and evaluates the potential risk of exposure from common African foods. Possible ways of reducing risk for fungal infection and aflatoxin development that are relevant to the African context. The presented database would be useful as benchmark information for development and prioritization of future research. There is need for more investigations on food quality and safety by making available advanced advanced equipments and analytical methods as well as surveillance and awareness creation in the region.

In West Africa, as in many parts of the world, livestock and fish farming suffer from the increasing cost of feed, especially protein ingredients, which are hardly available for village poultry farming and small-scale fish farming. Insects, which are a natural food source of poultry and fish and are rich in protein and other valuable nutrients, can be used to improve animal diets, a practice which is now strongly promoted by the FAO as a tool for poverty alleviation. This paper reviews practices and research on the use of insects as animal feed in West Africa and the perspectives to further develop the techniques, in particular for smallholder farmers and fish farmers. The most promising insects are flies, especially the house fly (Musca domestica) (Diptera Muscidae) and the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) (Diptera Stratiomyiidae), which can be mass reared on-farm for domestic use, in small production units at the community or industrial level. Flies have the advantage over most other insects of developing on freely available waste material and could even contribute to rural sanitation. Termites are traditionally used by smallholder farmers to feed village poultry. While their mass production is problematic, methods to enhance populations on-farm and facilitate collection can be developed. In any case, new methods will need to demonstrate their economic profitability, social acceptability and environmental sustainability

A common problem affecting many animal species is the soaring demand for their body parts for use in medicinal products. In Benin, in spite of intense commercial exploitation of wildlife for medicinal purposes, no official statistics on the use of animals for medicinal and magic/religious purposes are available and consequently, there is little consideration of the issue in laws, decision-making processes, and conservation strategies. The aim of this study was to list the mammal species sold on the medicinal market and the conservation implications of the use of mammal species in traditional folk medicines. Among the 87 mammal species traded on the traditional medicine market in Benin, 46 were sold by at least half of those traders surveyed; the conservation status of these animals included rare, vulnerable, and threatened species. Moreover, it was noticed that the source of animals is not limited to Benin since some species available at markets are not listed in the Benin's fauna. This study also found that rarer species were more costly and this constitutes an economic motivation for sellers to develop strategies for the availability of threatened species on their displays. Urgent conservation actions are needed to reduce the pressure that this activity sector might contribute to biodiversity loss.

Grasscutters or cane rats (Thryonomys spp.) are widely-distributed and valuable animals in West and Central Africa. Research has been carried out over the past 15 years to select and improve stock in order to improve their adaptability to a restricted life in captivity and to develop rearing programmes in rural and peri-urban areas of Africa. The biology of these rodents and the current status of grasscutter production are reviewed. The cultural and nutritional value of grasscutter meat, compared with that of other domestic animals, is underlined. Diverse economical, nutritional and environmental arguments for implementing grasscutter rearing in rural development programmes in Africa are listed and a method to develop grasscutter farming in any given country is suggested.

No abstract