Markspen introduces grain cooling system to Sri Lanka

Unveiling of the GRANIFRIGOR Grain Cooling System (from left): Markspen Group General Manager Duleep Dias Abeywickrama Gunasekera, Development Consultant and Chartered Mechanical Engineer Gratian A. Peiris, Tempt International Managing Director D.D.C. Deepal, Markspen Group Chairman Amil Galanga, and FrigorTec GmbH Agriculture Engineer and Asia Area Manager Dr. Claus M. Braunbeck

• Innovative German agritech device to reduce post-harvest losses and provide greater economic benefits to local rice and grain farmers

Markspen Group, the leading distributor of globally renowned modern agricultural machinery in Sri Lanka, introduced to the local market the GRANIFRIGOR Grain Cooling Device, an advanced agritech innovation from Germany. 

This pioneering cooling device, manufactured by Germany’s FrigorTec GmbH, draws from a 60-year legacy backed by specialised knowledge, domain expertise and technology acumen in agricultural cooling systems. Today GRANIFRIGOR™ is used in over 80 countries with specific models built to meet different climatic conditions as well as operating voltage standards. 

The event was graced by FrigorTec GmbH Agricultural Engineer and Asia Area Manager Dr. Claus M. Braunbeck, and Markspen Group Chairman Amil Galanga among other senior management and esteemed guests. Markspen Group is an authorised Importer and distribution partner for FrigorTec products in Sri Lanka.

“We are committed to improving the lives and livelihoods of farmers by improving their efficiency and productivity, and creating significant and sustainable growth across the agricultural sector,” Dr. Braunbeck stated during his speech at the launch event. With over 20 years of international experience in post-harvest technology, Dr. Braunbeck offered expert insights on the GRANIFRIGOR, and the significance of preventing spoilage, insect damage, and mould growth via grain cooling systems, particularly in tropical climates. 

In Sri Lanka, the cultivation of rice and other grain is central to the country’s agriculture, and is equally crucial to the national economy as well as for food security in Sri Lanka. Despite this significance, grain cultivation faces a multitude of challenges from climate change to volatile market prices, lack of credit access and post-harvest losses. A majority of these post-harvest losses occur during storage due to improper and inadequate storage facilities. Such storage facilities lead to fluctuations in moisture content, and pest infestations from the likes of rodents and insects. These poor storage practices allow for considerable damage to stored rice, grain, spices and similar dry crops contributing towards post-production losses of up to 20%. 

In order to reduce these losses, many local farmers resort to the use of chemical pesticides and insecticides on stored grain, while uninformed and unaware of proper practices in chemical usage. Such improper usage of chemicals can lead to various risks across the agriculture value chain; from overexposure for farmers and health risks to consumers, to environmental contamination from the misuse and improper disposal of pesticides. 

The GRANIFRIGOR cooling device can be used to immediately cool down rice, corn, and other types of grain as well as pepper, cloves, cinnamon and various spices that require dry, cool storage, independent of the external environmental condition. This innovative technology effectively prevents the spoiling of freshly harvested crops by controlling storage temperature below 13 degrees Celsius at all times, eliminating moisture and mould buildup within the storage unit, thereby allowing for their natural, high-quality preservation.

Markspen Group Chairman Amil Galanga said: “As the import and distributor for FrigorTec products in Sri Lanka, we are proud to introduce this pioneering technology to the local market, designed to protect grain from spoilage, insects and fungal growth, ensuring higher quality and sustainability in post-harvest management.” 

“This product launch further strengthens Markspen’s mission to empower Sri Lankan farmers and entrepreneurs with the latest in agritech. We are committed to improving the efficiency and productivity among our farmers, thereby enriching their lives and livelihoods while also driving significant and sustainable growth across the local agricultural sector.” 

The GRANIFRIGOR is also highly environmentally friendly and energy efficient, containing environmentally friendly safety refrigerants with low CO2 equivalent, and utilises a batch cooling process that results in an extremely low energy consumption.

-Pix by Daminda Harsha Perera