The Challenge

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development in Nigeria highlighted on August 11, 2022, that the country experiences a staggering loss of $8 billion annually due to post-harvest losses, which are primarily caused by poor infrastructure. These losses lead to compromised food quality, heightened food insecurity, and decreased incomes for millions of smallholder farmers.

The cereal and grains sector is particularly affected, with high post-harvest losses resulting from the use of inefficient traditional methods such as sun drying, which takes between two and three weeks. This extended period of drying increases the risk of contamination by foreign material, both organic and inorganic, leading to spoilage and reduced quality, which in turn makes it difficult for farmers to sell their products at premium prices. Additionally, farm-gate level storage infrastructure is either non-existent or limited, further exacerbating the losses.

The Innovation

CropSafe has developed a groundbreaking method for drying and preserving grains that prevents infestations during storage for up to three years. Using a heat disinfestation process, CropSafe’s dryers can efficiently dry grains within just seven hours and preserve them for five hours before bagging for storage or transportation. This cutting-edge approach stands in stark contrast to traditional methods that can take up to three weeks for drying and lack adequate protection against infestations.