Egypt has pledged to deploy technical experts to assess Malawi’s ageing grain silos, raising prospects for rehabilitation of the strategic grain reserves in Kanengo, Lilongwe.
Egyptian Ambassador Rasha Hamdy made the pledge yesterday during a visit to National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) headquarters in Lilongwe where several concrete silos have developed structural defects, including tilting.
She said Egypt could send specialists to determine whether the silos should be rehabilitated, reinforced or demolished and rebuilt.
“These silos were built by Egypt, and now some of them are leaning. We were approached to support an assessment so experts can advise on the best course of action,” said Hamdy.
She said Egypt’s support could extend beyond structural assessment to long-term cooperation in grain storage technology, capacity building and food security systems.
The envoy also disclosed that Malawi has requested Egypt’s assistance in agro-processing to add value to maize and other crops.
NFRA board chairperson Bruce Munthali said the agency engaged the Egyptian Embassy after identifying urgent infrastructure challenges at Kanengo, including leaning silos that pose safety risks.
“These silos were constructed by Egyptian engineers in 1982, so Egypt was a natural partner to approach,” he said.
Munthali said of the 48 concrete silos, only 36 are in use. Each silo has a capacity of 5 000 metric tonnes (MT).
He said eight silos have been decommissioned due to structural instability, reducing storage capacity from 180 000MT to 140 000MT.
NFRA is also seeking partnerships to improve storage of other food security crops, including rice, sorghum, millet, beans and dried cassava.
Apart from Kanengo, NFRA also operates grain silos in Mzuzu, Mangochi and Luchenza.
