More silos, less food waste? For years, the state has been working to boost its wheatstorage capacity — building more silos and taking out loans to invest in silo development, all with the aim of ensuring none of our local harvest goes to waste due to lack of sufficient silo capacity and increasing wheat reserves.

In numbers: Around 40% of produce is wasted in Egypt as a result of the disjointed packingand distribution network as well as insufficient storage facilities. The Supply Ministry has unleashed its plan to increase the country’s silo capacity to 5.3 mn tons from its current 2.1 mn tons and cut down on the percentage of wheat that is wasted in the harvest and storage process.

More silos in the pipeline: We’ve been gearing up for another 30k tons of wheat storagecapacity since 2022, when the Supply Ministry announced that Italy is building six new field silos — each of which will hold 5k tons — at a cost of EGP 367 mn as part of the two countries’ debt swap program. Two have already been completed and the other four are under construction.

What are field silos? Field silos are silos set up where the crops are being planted andharvested and tech-advanced field silos help reduce the human element and in turn reduce the crops wasted. Tech-advanced silos also help reduce the crop’s exposure to insects or damage, helping preserve the contents for longer.

Field silos mean less spending on transporting the harvested wheat back and forth betweensilos, sources in the internal trade sector told us.

The government has so far set up six new field silos equipped with modern technologiesand automated 22 of the country’s 70 silos set up across the country.

We’re in for more funding for our silos: The Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storageearlier this week secured a USD 110 mn loan from the World Bank, company head Sherif Basily said. The entirety of the loan will go towards purchasing equipment and machinery for field silos. The loan will help authorities purchase the needed tech components and operating systems needed to automate five silos.

Sounds familiar? The World Bank, the EU, and the French Development Agency havepreviously provided finance to Egypt to help expand its silo capacity in response to rising food insecurity triggered by the war in Ukraine. The World Bank in 2022 said that it is lending us USD 500 mn to support “national efforts to reduce waste and loss in the wheat supply chain through the upgrade and expansion of climate-resilient wheat silos,” among other things. The EU and French Development Agency also gave the government EUR 60 mn to expand its silo capacity.

Automated silos? Silo automation helps improve efficiency and reduce manual labor involvedin the management of the wheat crop — a move in the right direction seeing how pricey wheat imports have become in light of our FX crunch. “We are currently working on testing the electric connectivity system for automated silos to ensure they are ready for this year’s local wheat harvest season,” Basily said.

More storage capacity: The country’s wheat storage capacity is expected to increase some30% as the field silos project progresses and the government builds new silos, our sources said.

The private sector’s role is crucial: The private sector plays an essential role in the country’s plan to set up more logistics zones and national projects aimed at boosting food security, Assistant Supply Minister Ibrahim Ashmawy had previously told Enterprise. The state is currently in talks with a number of private sector players over the matter.

The agriculture sector needs to get with the times: The state needs to find ways to utilizeagricultural waste and convert it into a safe fertilizer as a way to tackle the rise in fertilizer cost, vice president of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s vegetables division Hatem El Naguib told Enterprise. He also pointed to the need for farmers to start shifting their crop production cycle to take into account climate change, which may double productivity.

Egypt could achieve self-sufficiency in wheat through prioritizing the agricultural sector,launching national projects, introducing modern storage systems, and setting up field silos and green food centers, El Naguib added.

Your top green economy stories for the week:

  • More EVs incoming: Raya Holding’s automotive unit Raya Auto has become thecountry’s sole agent for Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng and will bring three of its models to the Egyptian market throughout the year.
  • ACWA Power’s Kom Ombo solar plant is nearing completion: The 200-MW solar plant being built in Upper Egypt is now 82% complete and is expected to be completed by April 2024 at an investment cost of USD 168 mn.
  • BRICS’ New Development Bank eyes electricity investments in Egypt: The New Development Bank (NDB) plans to ramp up its investments in Egypt’s electricity and renewable energy sectors.
  • General Atlantic acquires Actis: US private equity firm General Atlantic has agreed toacquire London-based, emerging markets-focussed infrastructure fund manager Actis — an important player in our green energy ambitions — which will add USD 12.5 bn worth of assets under management to General Atlantic’s USD 83 bn portfolio.
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