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The leader of The Grain Council of Uganda (TGCU) has called for interventions to regulate the buying of grain to tackle the problem of aflatoxins.

TGCU chairman Robert Mwanje said Saturday that due to the high demand for maize, foreigners are coming into the country to buy gardens before maturity.

As a result, the maize is not allowed to mature, which is worsening the problem of aflatoxins.

Aflatoxins are known to cause liver cancer and immune suppression and are strongly associated with stunting.

According to online sources, aflatoxin contamination of sorghum, maize, and peanuts causes a decline in exports valued at $7.48 million (sh28 billion), which accounts for a 45% reduction in total agricultural exports to Uganda.

In recent years, Uganda has had her grain rejected by Kenya and South Sudan over concerns that the level of aflatoxins in the consignments for export exceeds levels recommended by the World Health Organization.

Mwanje said immature grain contains higher moisture content that is difficult to remove, thereby causing the grain to degrade.

In a bid to have the grain ready, he said some unscrupulous people spray it with chemicals such as "Ambush" to make it dry faster.

"This is the grain that is ending up at the border and creating a bad name for us."

Mwanje said that TGCU efforts to ensure that grain is properly harvested and processed are being undone by such acts.

"We have had what we call industrial self-regulation," he said.

"We will try to regulate ourselves. We will try to say 'what can we do such that whatever we process, whatever we give to people to eat, is fit for human consumption? But efforts are being undone'."

Mwanje was speaking on a local radio talk show about Uganda's growing problem of aflatoxins.