Maize drying systems in Togo
What the crop demands, what the country imposes, and what that means for capacity.
Maize is the Togolese staple and the country runs two seasons, which is an advantage agronomically and a problem for drying: the second harvest lands in a wetter part of the year, when field drying is least reliable and aflatoxin risk in storage is highest.
The situation in Togo
Lomé is the only natural deep-water port on this stretch of coast and the country has built an export economy around it. Togo has also become the region’s organic soy specialist, with a certified chain that reaches European feed and food buyers directly — a genuinely unusual position for a country of eight million, and one that depends entirely on documented moisture control.
Growing regions. the Maritime and Plateaux regions in the south, Centrale and Kara further north
What maize drying demands
Maize dried to 12–13 % stores through to the lean season; maize at 16 % moulds and grows aflatoxin in the same store. Since the second harvest lands in the rains, when field drying is least reliable, this is the crop where controlled drying most directly converts into food security rather than export earnings.
Harvest calendar
Two harvests — July to August and November to December. The July-to-August crop is the difficult one, coming off the field into humidity.
The working campaign window as the trade runs it. It shifts a fortnight either way with the rains.
Process parameters
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Drying temperature | 40–50 °C |
| Final moisture | 12–13 % |
| Yield (fresh : dried) | 1.3 : 1 |
| Cycle time | 6–12 h |
Sizing starting points from ordinary processing practice, not a validated recipe for your product. Confirm against your own intake and your buyer’s specification.
Worked sizing example
For a unit taking 20 tonnes of fresh product a day, at a yield of 1.3 : 1:
Illustrative figures calculated from the yield and campaign window above. They size a conversation; they do not describe any existing installation.
Fuel available in Togo
Togo’s organic soy sector generates a growing volume of husk, consistent and easy to feed. Cashew shell in the Centrale region.
- Base load. Soybean husk · Cashew shell · Palm kernel shell
- Supplement. Shea cake and shell · Cotton stalk · Corn cob
See all 27 fuels and their properties
Market and buyer requirements
Domestic and regional food security, plus feed. This is a crop where controlled drying converts directly into food safety and stored value rather than export earnings.
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The systems that hold this profile
Other crops in Togo
Soybean · Raw cashew nut · Shea · Pineapple
Frequently asked questions
Why is Togo’s first maize harvest the risky one?
Because July and August are wet. Grain coming off the field into humidity cannot be reliably field-dried, and maize stored above about 14 % moisture grows aflatoxin — so the harvest that most needs drying is the one least able to get it from the sun.
What moisture does maize need for storage?
12 to 13 %, reached on a 6 to 12 hour cycle at 40–50 °C. Above about 14 % it moulds and generates aflatoxin in the same store, and the loss appears months later during the lean season — when the grain was most needed and is least replaceable at any price.
Is a dryer justified for a staple crop?
On a food-security basis more clearly than a commercial one. A 20 t/day line producing about 15 tonnes daily of storable grain at 40–50 °C protects a harvest that would otherwise be partly lost — value retained rather than value added.
Size a unit in Togo
Tell us your daily fresh volume and target output, and we will size the chambers, the burner and the fuel available around your site.
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