Dantata Foods, headquartered in Kano, Nigeria, announced today that they have secured the services of Blumberg Grain, headquartered in the United States, to construct state of the art food security and storage facilities for local produce to be located in Kano, Nigeria.
The Dantata Foods project is slated to begin construction during the first quarter of 2024 and will include specialized storage for onions and can be easily expanded to include other crops, as well as a section for grain storage, fertilizer, and seed distribution, with other components focused on farmer assistance including training and technical assistance, farmer-focused financing assistance and other resources to help Nigeria’s farmers.
Blumberg Grain’s use of cold chain with controlled atmosphere technology can extend the life of the Nigerian onion crop by up to 11 months, while reducing high current post-harvest loss rates to under 5%.
Additionally, this project is designed to address hardships to Nigerian farmers due in-part to climate change which has damaged Nigerian agriculture and increased post-harvest losses and decreased crop yields.
Blumberg Grain is a global leader in the food security and storage arena and their expertise and experience extends across Africa and the Middle East including the construction of one of the world’s largest food security projects in Egypt which saw the construction of 3.2 million square feet in 93 grain storage facilities along 600 miles of the Nile Valley.
Mr. Tajuddeen Dantata, Chairman and Founder of Dantata stated that “as my company works to create new opportunities for our country’s farmers and building up our agricultural independence and growth potential, I wanted the best technology and expertise to showcase modern food security and storage facilities and systems we must have. Blumberg Grain’s experience and technology across grain and produce and perishables will provide us with the tools we need to grow.”
Dantata Foods is one of the most prominent and successful food companies in Nigeria and it provides much-needed jobs within the agricultural production and processing sector. This project will provide efficient and effective storage of onions, will help extend the life of the onion crop, and will allow for much better pricing and income stabilization for Nigeria’s farmers.
Mr. Philip Blumberg, Chairman and CEO of Blumberg Grain, said that he “has known Tajuddeen Dantata for many years and he and his company’s great reputation within the country’s agriculture sector and his goals and objectives for Nigeria’s agriculture future fit in very well with our company’s experience and expertise. We are looking forward to working with Dantata Foods on a project that has so much potential to transform Nigerian food production.
The project will also be an opportunity to showcase a security and storage model for Nigerian onions, which comprises 10% of the world’s supply, to the Government of Nigeria as it works to help provide more opportunities to the country’s farmers and rural areas and Mr. Dantata said he is looking forward to working with the Nigerian Government and Blumberg Grain on the expansion of these facilities across the country to benefit Nigeria’s farmers and increase its exports of agricultural products.
