When fungi cause illness: Kenyan and German researchers join forces in the fight against aflatoxins

On 22 September, a delegation from Kenya arrived in Landau. The four researchers worked on their project at the RPTU alongside local colleagues for ten days, strengthening the existing partnership.

Since 2018, the RPTU and the University of Nairobi, along with other project partners, have been working on a project focusing on the contamination of Kenyan soils and crops with aflatoxins. These moulds are highly toxic and carcinogenic to humans.

This cooperation began with the 'AflaZ' project. From 2024 to 2027, the follow-up project, 'SolFOOD', will build on the solutions already found and develop them further. Both projects aim to ensure food security in Kenya and improve soil quality through the use of biological agents. The current SolFOOD project is therefore making a significant contribution to public health.

'What makes this research project special is its solution-oriented approach. We have already minimised aflatoxin contamination in soil and during crop storage by training farmers. Now, in collaboration with our Kenyan and German colleagues, we are taking it a step further and working to find solutions for decontaminating contaminated crops," says Dr Katherine Muñoz Sepúlveda, a scientist at RPTU and part of the SolFOOD project.

The current scientific delegation consists of two doctoral students from the University of Nairobi and Professors Sheila Okoth (Biology) and David Kariuki (Chemistry). Alongside a soil chemistry laboratory course with Dr Dörte Diehl, they will collaborate with the Landau research team to explore ways to strengthen knowledge transfer between the two universities. While the professors will only stay at RPTU for ten days, the doctoral students will remain for a whole semester. In addition to their own doctoral studies, they will further advance the project through soil research in the RPTU laboratories in Landau.

“We already have a long-standing, successful partnership with the University of Nairobi. Now we want to expand it even further. An important step for us in deepening our cooperation is that we can now regularly support two doctoral students from the University of Nairobi,' says Dr Christian Dorsch, Head of Mobility Programmes at the RPTU's International Affairs Department.

The wet and cold autumn weather in Landau will probably be the biggest challenge for the delegation. Discussions between the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and the International Affairs Department are like consultations between good friends. They are characterised by mutual appreciation that has developed over many years of cooperation.

'Our soils and the staple food maize are heavily contaminated with toxic moulds in Kenya. This joint project is incredibly important for my country as it directly impacts food safety and public health," says Sheila Okoth. She adds that collaborating with the project partners in Germany is also crucial for her team. As well as RPTU, these partners include the Julius Kühn Institute and the Max Rubner Institute, which coordinates the project. 'In addition to what we have already achieved together, the scientific exchange is of great importance to us and our students. For example, we will benefit from the RPTU's soil chemistry laboratory course in the environmental and soil chemistry working group at our university in Nairobi,” Okoth continues.

David Kariuki also emphasises the importance of the joint research project: 'The issue of food security has a direct impact on the population. Together, we have already developed solutions that we have successfully implemented within the community. For instance, we have provided training courses for farmers, teaching them how to assess their soil and recognise dangers.”

This project is a flagship initiative that translates scientific results into practical solutions through interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration. The University of Nairobi and RPTU are working together in the field of soil health research. Interdisciplinary cooperation is already underway here, too. While the Environmental and Soil Chemistry working group conducts research on soil health, the Chemistry Education working group is responsible for research on risk literacy. The Julius Kühn Institute and the Kenyan project partner, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), facilitate the transfer into practice. Funding for the project comes from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, while the university exchange is funded by the ERASMUS programme.