Business Correspondent: The poultry, fisheries and dairy sectors requires substantial amount of maize as the main raw material for making feed which has become a major commodity for the fish and livestock industry of Bangladesh. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture has taken various special initiatives to increase the production of maize Nationwide. Work is underway to increase production to 10 million metric tons per year within the next five years. Provided we are successful, it will be possible not only to achieve self-sufficiency in maize production but also to earn a lot of foreign exchange by exporting abroad.
According to the Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, the production of maize in the country was 7,50,000 metric tons in 2009, which has increased to 54 million metric tons in 2020. On the other hand, the demand for maize is 65-70 lakh tonnes per annum. Due to several floods and Pandemic this year the price of this commodity, the major source for feed production, has gone up abnormally specially in the International market causing a big challenge for the feed mill owners so is the end farmers. If this continues, the consumers will eventually be deprived of a cheap animal protein and as a result of a very inauspicious situation for the Nation.
However, Mr. Zahidul Islam, Managing Director of AXON Group, have expressed great hopes that is quite interesting. In an interview, he said that it is common for the price of any commodity to fluctuate specially in the international market. That is why it is very important to keep ourselves updated on regular basis while invest on innovative technologies on a long term & proper storage facilities .
He said the agro sector would be of a great benefit if the locally produced Maize during harvest season as well as imported maize while the price is low are stored in Steel SILO. It is applicable not for only feed millers but also for importers, traders or any prospective entrepreneurs who can benefit from use of such technology from an effective system like CHIEF Agri.
He said that CHIEF Agri is one of the proudest member of CHIEF Industries Inc. family of USA. Since 1961 (60 years), they have been one of the market leader in the design, manufacturer & install of Grain silo storage bins, handling, conditioning and drying systems from their factories in America and now also in Europe as well.
There are few key aspects to choose a good silo from like it’s origin, strength, corrugation, thickness & weight of the steel then the galvanization, temperature arrangement & aeration system. Basically a good steel Silo system should be able to maintain proper moisture of the grains and having smooth operation from it’s handling system with a long years of shelf life without any defects or damage to the system. This is what CHIEF agri is all about & Zahidul Islam also added that there are substantial good references Globally of CHIEF as well as few users in Bangladesh have been of great benefit from CHIEF silo system and few projects are also in the pipeline as well.
Silo is a modern scientific method for the proper storage of grain commodities for a long period of time from hundreds to thousands of tons like maize, wheat, rice, paddy…etc. It is also the safest & most effective solution for food security in case of an emergency in the country.
Here in Bangladesh, food grains are traditionally dried in the sun and stored for some time in pots, buckets, jute sacks etc. The quality of grain is not maintained in such warehousing as it does not control the moisture of the food grains, inadequate ventilation and no prevention of pests, fungal infections and rat infestation and so on.
These problems can be overcome instantly with the help of the advanced technology like use of CHIEF Silo system for the proper storage of the grains for a long period of time.
A concept that we can think of might help & save the farmers also benefiting the Nation like building a Agricultural Cooperative Center in every 5-6 square miles in the Northern part of the country. There will be warehouses to bring in the crops managed by the agricultural cooperative society then sort out to do the necessities and finally store it into the Silo. This process will allow the proper storage of common grain like paddy, maize…etc in that region where the government can make direct purchase from each farmer at a proportional rate with having any middle man.
The number of grain warehouses in the country is lot less than they are required. The government buys lakhs of tonnes of paddy and rice in the domestic market during the Aman/Boro season. The total capacity of food warehouses in the country is 21 lakh metric tons. The lion's share of rice is already stored in advance by brokers. So where will the surplus or extra purchased rice will be stored into ? How logical is it to comply of such a decision without creating the necessary food warehouses?
If the government needs to build grain warehouses and silos soon at the same time it is also not possible to make full use of the total capacity of grain warehouses that already exist. Reason is their existing locations also the condition of the warehouses are very poor that needs effective reformed. So with such a drastic situation, it is possible to overcome the problems by constructing innovative Silos from efficient manufacturers from the developed World.
For details about CHIEF Agri's silo in Bangladesh contact:
AXON
Russel Park (5th fl.), House-101, Road-13 / A, Block-C, Banani, Dhaka-1213, Bangladesh.
Contact: Phone: + 880-2-222264473, +880 1716379938
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.axon-group.net
