Ms. Hellen Cheptegei at her farm in Tabagon Village, Eastern Uganda.
By the time the rains come down in Tabagon Village, nestled in the fertile hills of Kween District in Eastern Uganda, Hellen Cheptegei is already racing against the clouds. She has just a few hours of sun to dry her maize harvest properly. When she doesn’t, she risks more than just financial loss.
“I used to dry my maize on the bare ground,” she recalls. “It would get wet, turn yellowish, and develop toxins that are dangerous—to me, to my family, even to the animals.
“Buyers also offered very low prices. If the maize was not well dried, they forced us to give away about 10 kilograms per bag,”
The yellowish maize Hellen once sold and consumed was often contaminated with aflatoxin, a highly toxic mold that thrives in damp, poorly stored grain. In Uganda—particularly in the eastern highland regions like Kween and Mbale—aflatoxin contamination is a silent but deadly threat, affecting food safety, trade, and public health.
“After the training, I realized I had been eating maize with toxins that can cause serious diseases like cancer,” Hellen says.
“We used to feed the spoilt yellowish maize to cows. Later, we learnt the toxins come back to us through the meat we eat—cows, pigs, and chickens.”
This realization came during post-harvest training organized under the Enhancing Access to Markets for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation (EAMIAT) project implemented by Kilimo Trust with funding from AGRA. The project focuses on improving post-harvest practices across maize, rice, and beans value chains in Eastern Uganda, helping farmers like Hellen improve quality and income.
Hellen now uses tarpaulins to dry her maize off the ground and stores it in more durable hermetic bags that keep out pests and moisture. Before, she stored her maize in poorly ventilated rooms using worn-out bags. Now, with better practices in place, her 100-bag harvest from four acres of maize fetches improved prices—about UGX 80,000 per 100-kilogram bag.
It's not just about business—it’s about survival and dignity. A mother of six, Hellen has used her income to pay school fees—four of her children have completed college or university—and is now building a permanent house.
Across the region, aflatoxin remains a serious and under-addressed issue. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 17.6% of Uganda’s grains are lost annually, often due to contamination. Worse, entire shipments of Ugandan maize have been rejected in regional markets like Kenya and South Sudan due to aflatoxin, threatening both farmer incomes and the country’s trade reputation.
“Aflatoxin is very serious because it causes financial losses and is one of the leading causes of cancer. That’s why we are focusing so much on aflatoxin control under the EAMIAT project.” says Immaculate Tumwine, Program Assistant at Kilimo Trust
She explains that Kilimo Trust’s intervention spans training farmers on post-harvest handling, storage management, and aflatoxin control. The project also links farmers to suppliers of essential materials like hermetic bags and drying tarpaulins—technologies that reduce losses and extend the shelf life of grain.
“We found many farmers using rudimentary methods—drying grain on bare ground, storing it on the floor, and using conventional sacks,” Immaculate says.
“These practices increase the risk of pest infestation and aflatoxin. That’s why we’re encouraging farmers to adopt safer methods—not just for today, but for every season to come.”
Kilimo Trust is also amplifying its work through community radio talk shows across Busoga, Bugisu, and Sebei sub-regions to raise awareness about aflatoxin risks and safe storage practices.
Meanwhile, back in Tabagon, Hellen is putting her knowledge to use—not just for herself but for others. She is part of a 32-member farmer group helping train more households in better post-harvest handling.
“We’re no longer just farming,” she says. “We’re farming with knowledge. And that knowledge is saving our health, our money, and our future.”