South African agriculture has always had to work with the climate.
Rainfall, heat, drought, humidity and seasonal changes influence what can be grown, where it can be grown and ultimately what can be harvested.
But the importance of climate does not end when a crop leaves the field.
Once a crop is harvested, its value still needs protecting.
Seeds, grains and harvested crops remain sensitive to the environment around them. Temperature, humidity, airflow and moisture can influence product quality, storage life and how much of the original harvest ultimately reaches the market.
For producers, climate control can therefore play an important role in protecting quality, reducing losses and getting more value from every harvest.
The Post-Harvest Climate Challenge
CSIR research estimates that approximately 10.3 million tonnes of edible food produced in South Africa does not ultimately reach the consumer, with around 19% of food loss and waste occurring during post-harvest handling and storage.*
For an agricultural business, those losses can represent far more than the crop itself. By the time a product reaches storage, significant investment has already gone into land, water, labour, energy and production.
The challenge is that no single storage climate is ideal. Too much moisture can contribute to mould, decay and deterioration. Too little can negatively affect certain crops. Temperature, humidity and airflow requirements also vary according to what is being stored and for how long.
The answer isn’t simply more cooling or more drying. It’s creating the right climate for the product.
Engineering The Climate Around The Product
This is where SCE®’s approach starts. Rather than beginning with a piece of equipment, we first look at the product, facility and operational requirements.
What needs to be stored? What conditions does it require? How long does it need to remain there? How does the outside climate affect the facility? And how can the required environment be maintained efficiently?
SCE® then engineers the climate around those requirements.
Our agricultural and horticultural solutions can support:
- Seed storage – protecting quality and longevity
- Potato storage – reducing the risk of moisture-related damage
- Garlic and onion drying and storage – maintaining controlled drying and storage conditions
- Silo conditioning and drying – helping manage moisture around stored material
More Than Temperature Control
Effective agricultural climate control often requires several environmental variables to work together. SCE® can integrate heating, cooling, dehumidification, humidification, air handling, filtration, measurement and energy recovery into one engineered solution.
Through our authorised partnerships with DST and Vaisala, we can also incorporate advanced dehumidification and world-leading environmental measurement technology into the wider system.
Protecting Product Without Losing Sight Of Energy
Maintaining optimal conditions comes with an operating cost. Agricultural storage and drying systems may run continuously or for extended periods, making energy efficiency an important part of the engineering decision.
SCE® considers the wider facility to identify where energy can be used more intelligently.
That could mean recovering available waste energy, evaluating more efficient sources of heating or cooling, or designing an integrated air handling system that reduces unnecessary energy demand.
The objective is simple: Create the climate the product needs with the most efficient solution for the facility.
One Partner For The Complete Climate
SCE® brings climate consulting, engineering, technology and ongoing support together.
Our approach combines:
- Custom climate engineering
- Integrated air handling
- Humidity and temperature control
- Energy recovery and efficiency
- Precision environmental measurement
- Turnkey installation and single accountability
- Remote monitoring, servicing and ongoing support
The advantage for agricultural businesses is an integrated approach that means climate control is designed around the crop, the facility and the commercial outcome. Instead of treating temperature, humidity and airflow as separate challenges, SCE® considers the complete psychrometric process and engineers the system around the conditions the product actually needs.
Discover Your Specialised Climate® for agriculture and horticulture.
info@sc-engineering.co.za
+27 11 568 4440
www.sc-engineering.co.za
*Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), 10 August 2021, “45% of available food supply in South Africa wasted, shows new CSIR study.