TANZANIA – Feerum JSC, a Poland based producer of grain silos is set to commission a number of grain silos in Tanzania’s Songea, Dodoma and Shinyanga regions and two districts next year.

The Polish firm signed an agreement with Tanzania’s National Food Reserve Agency to construct five grain silos in December 2016 in a deal valued at US$33.1 million.

The agreement also concerned the establishment of storage facilities and the revitalization of existing warehouse facilities by the company.

Its implementation was to be fully financed from funds from the loan granted by the Polish Government to the government of Tanzania.

Speaking to Daily News, a member of the management board of Feerum JSC, Piotr Wielesik said construction of 36 grain silos was progressing well and they hoped to complete the task as per demand of the contract.

According to Feerum JSC, each silo has the capacity to store 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.

“Polish government is ready to support small farmers in Tanzania and that’s why we have opened our branch in Dar es Salaam.

This cooperation intends to help Tanzanian farmers to have storage facility and our plan for the future is to work with the Tanzania Private Sector too.”

He noted that the European Union plans to invest US$49.97 billion in Africa and mostly in agriculture because Africa will be the only place to export grain to Europe in the future.

Feerum is focused on manufacturing various products, including grain silos and dryers as well as grain transport systems, within and outside the country.

Statistics show 40% food produced in Africa is wasted due to poor harvesting and storage methods.

It is therefore estimated that the demand for grain on this continent will increase by 2050 by more than 330%.