The Polish government is ready to support Tanzanian farmers and cut post-harvest losses of their crop production
Polish investor Feerum JSC is nearing the commisioning of close to 36 grain silos in Tanzania, as it also is on the verge of completing its mission in the East African country.
Feerum JSC began its construction process in December 2016, after signing a $33.1 million contract with Tanzania National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), a Public Institution established as Executive Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives of Tanzania for the purpose of guaranteeing national food security during a food shortage.
With close to 40 percent food produced in Africa wasted due to poor harvesting and storage methods, the need for better storage facilities has opened up business investment opportunities for companies. The demand for grain on the African continent will increase by 2050 by more than 330 percent, and early measures need to be undertaken to limit post-harvest losses.
A member of the management board of Feerum JSC, Piotr Wielesik said to Tanzania Daily News the construction of 36 grain silos was progressing well and hoped to complete the task by 2020 as per the demand of the contract. Each silo has the capacity to store between from 3,500 tonnes to 4,100 tonnes of grains.
“Due to this contract, Feerum JSC undertakes to design and manufacture grain silos, transport silos to places specified in the contract in Tanzania, assembly and commissioning of silos, warranty service and training of NFRA personnel in the silo service,” said Wielesik.
Tanzania’s corn production was forecast to decline 2 percent to 5.25 million tonnes for the year 2018/19 down from 5.35 million tonnes in the previous year, affected by pests and diseases, according to a report by Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) of the USDA. As agriculture in the mainstay of Tanzania’s economy, better customization of storage warehouses should improve food security, to feed the citizens and secure more for exports. As Tanzanian government expects to increase its rice exports to Eastern Africa region by one-third in Marketing Year (MY) 2018/19, such structures fit the government’s objective.
Source: The Exchange
