Smart Solar Drying
Post-harvest infrastructure that pays back. Cut drying from 7–10 days to 2–3, reduce post-harvest losses, and hit export-grade quality — with solar drying, IoT monitoring and full traceability in one system.
The Challenge
Every year, farmers across Africa lose 30-50% of their harvest due to inefficient drying methods. Traditional open-air sun drying takes 5-7 days, exposing crops to contamination from dust, pests, and unexpected rainfall. These losses not only impact farmers' income but also contribute to food insecurity and reduced market opportunities. For smallholder farmers, accessing modern drying technology has been prohibitively expensive, leaving them trapped in a cycle of post-harvest losses.
The Solution
Synnefa's Smart Solar Dryer revolutionizes post-harvest processing by combining greenhouse technology with intelligent monitoring systems. Our solution transforms traditional solar drying into a precise, controlled process that reduces drying time to just 2-3 days while maintaining product quality. Through flexible ownership, financing, and service options, cooperatives and agribusinessescan access this technology at the right cost structure for their business.
Key Innovation Features
The Greenhouse Solar Dryer provides a controlled environment that protects crops while maximizing natural solar energy. It comes complete with tables and racks to allow you spread your produce and take advantage of vertical height to dry more volume. The design allows movement of hot air evenly across all surfaces ensuring even distribution of drying
Our FarmShield™ IoT sensors continuously monitors temperature, humidity, and drying conditions and connect to the FarmCloud™software platform to deliver real-time insights and alerts directly to operators' phones, ensuring optimal drying results every time. This integrated approach, combined with solar-powered HVAC fans, delivers consistent, high-quality dried products that command premium market prices.
Our Eco-friendly greenhouse design maximizes natural solar energy for optimal drying conditions. This efficiency is further increased by our Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning-HVAC fans and sensors which are fully powered by solar reducing energy costs and environmental impact and saving carbon emissions when compared to fuel powered drying equipment. Our smart solar dryers come complete with batteries to ensure they HVAC fans operate even at night!
What makes our Smart Solar Dryer different?
Our solar dryers conform to global standards and are improved on a yearly basis by our engineering team to ensure up to date structures and designs are released to the market.
Controlled environment maintains nutrient integrity and prevents contamination, ensuring premium quality dried products.
FarmShield™ IoT sensors monitor and maintain optimal temperature and humidity levels for consistent drying results.
From as small as 40 sq.m to as large as 2,000sq.m, to meet the volume needs and budget of your organisation.
Advanced HVAC system cuts traditional drying time from 5-7 days to just 2-3 days, increasing productivity and turnover.
Superior dried product quality opens access to premium markets and better pricing opportunities.
Enclosed greenhouse design shields produce from dust, rain, pests, and other environmental contaminants.
Small rental payments makes advanced drying technology accessible to smallholder farmers through small payment plans towards full ownership.
What's Included in Your Smart Solar Dryer?
- Hardware Components
✓Greenhouse Structure
Metallic electroplated galvanised steel with 10 years waranty against rust reinforced with greenhouse 200microns UV-stabilized plastic covering.
✓Solar-Powered Industrial Exhaust fan System
Monocrystalline Solar Panels connected to Lithium Batteries which provide energy 24/7.
-Hybrid Inverter
-Heavy-duty solar-powered Industrial Exhaust fans.
- Industrial roof ventilators/cyclones
- Support Connections: Cables: 1.5mm/2.5mm and conduit pipes. Metallic Sockets, Patterns, and
-Fittings Prefabricated Socket shields from Rain and external mechanical damage
-Solar Power system Support frames,
-Lockable control box
-Power sockets for use to power your appliances such as laptops, internet, security systems and lighting systems
✓Drying Racks
Food-grade stainless steel mesh drying racks and tables. We provide 2-3 levels of drying beds to ensure maximum volume is dried.
This includes:
-Metal frames
-Square tubes of 1.5-2mm thickness depending on weight
-Mesh wire and each rack with 3 shelves
-With anti-corrosion paint that is food grade approved.
-Covering with Mesh/ Shade Netting.
✓Handheld Grain/Coffee Moisture Meter
-Fits in your hands enabling you to check the moisture levels of your grains/fruits or coffee beans before you remove them from the dryer. This ensures you only remove what has achieved the required moisture content.
✓Electric Weighing Scales
-To ease tonnage calculations of the dried product. Simply place your bags and read the digital weight and update your records.
✓FarmShield™ IoT Sensors
-Monitors the conditions inside the dryer and ensures optimum humidity and airflow is maintained by powering the fans on and off for efficient drying.
- Technology & Support
✓FarmCloud™ Platform Access
12-month subscription to our cloud-based solar dryer monitoring system to track your dryer humidity levels, harvest volumes, farmer details and information to unlock full traceability of your dried harvests and repayment schedule for your Rent to Own plan.
✓Installation & Training
Professional installation and comprehensive operator training
✓Maintenance Package
1-year warranty with quarterly maintenance visits then an annual small maintenance charge.
✓Technical Support
24/7 phone and SMS support for urgent issues
Built for your value chains
Engineered for any crop above 12% moisture — from Ghana's cocoa belt to Kenya's coffee cooperatives and the omena fishery of Lake Victoria.
☕ Coffee — Even parchment drying that protects cupping quality and shields against sudden rain. (Live — Kenya.)
🌽 Maize — Aflatoxin-safe drying from harvest to storage-ready (≈13%). (Live — Kenya.)
🥭 Mango — Premium, uniform dried fruit with controlled temperature. (Live — Iviani Farm, Kenya and Complete Farmer, Ghana.)
🌿 Herbs & spices — Low-temperature drying that preserves aroma and active compounds for export. (Live - Iviani farm, Kenya)
🌶️ Chillies — Even drying that retains colour and pungency for export grades. (Live — Macefoods, Kenya and Complete Farmer, Ghana.)
🥜 Peanuts / Groundnuts — Fast, hygienic drying that reduces aflatoxin. (Deployed — Mamlo Foods)
🐟 Fish (omena / silver fish) — Enclosed, fly-free, dust-free drying for human consumption and feed-grade output.
🍚 Rice — Controlled paddy drying to milling moisture, reducing grain breakage and improving mill yield.
🌱 Cassava — Chips, granules and flour-ready stock; hygienic and dust-free.
🌰 Shea — Kernel drying for the women's value chain in Northern Ghana.
🍌 Plantain, vegetables & more — Anything above 12% moisture.
🍫 Cocoa — VPD-controlled drying to LBC-grade, 2–3 days vs 5–7 sun-drying; lower aflatoxin risk.
25–45% post-harvest loss reduction measured across active deployments — observable through FarmCloud™ batch records.
See the Smart Solar Dryer in Action
Why a Synnefa Smart Solar Dryer?
Our dryers are Trusted by
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Ownership Options:
Same dryer, same smart system — three ways to pay for it. Choose the structure that fits your balance sheet and cashflow.
Field Drying-as-a-Service: Run Your Own Drying Enterprise
Acquire your Smart Solar Dryer through Full Purchase or Rent-to-Own. We deliver and commission the dryer, install FarmShield IoT sensors, and connect it to FarmCloud for traceability. You own the asset. You operate it in your county. We back you with operatortraining, drying-cycle SOPs, and quarterly maintenance during warranty.
Our FarmShield™ IoT sensors continuously monitors temperature, humidity, and drying conditions and connect to the FarmCloud™software platform to deliver real-time insights and alerts directly to operators' phones, ensuring optimal drying results every time. This integrated approach, combined with solar-powered HVAC fans, delivers consistent, high-quality dried products that command premium market prices.
You keep 100% of drying service revenue. Pricing autonomy is yours. Direct customer relationships with farmers belong to you. Where available, Synnefa connects you to vetted commercial offtakers whose contracts already require traceable drying records — opening optional offtake margins on the dried product.
All plans include:
✓ Greenhouse Solar Dryer
✓ Solar Powered HVAC Fans
✓ Solar Panels and Battery
✓ Drying Tables and Racks
✓ Digital Weighing Machines
✓ FarmShield™ IoT System
✓ FarmCloud™ Platform
✓ Installation & Training
✓ Technical Eligibility for
✓ Field Drying-as-a-Service deployment
Have Existing Infrastructure? Choose What You Need.
Already have a greenhouse structure, drying racks, or grid electricity? We offer flexible upgrade configurations — you only pay for what you need.
Smart Dryer: Upgrade Packages 🆕
*Excludes Solar Panels and Batteries. Customer uses Grid Power.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the Synnefa Smart Solar Dryer take to dry crops?
2–3 days for most crops, compared with 5–10 days for open-air sun drying. Vapour Pressure Difference-aware fans and FarmShield™ IoT keep drying even and continuous, including at night and during the rainy season.
What crops can it dry?
Any crop above 12% moisture — cocoa, coffee, maize, mango, chillies, groundnuts, rice, fish (omena), cassava, shea, herbs and plantain. Actively deployed across cocoa, mango, chilli, coffee, peanut and fish value chains in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda.
How much can it dry?
Four standard sizes from the 4×10m starter (about 330 kg/week) to the 16×30m industrial unit (about 8,000 kg/week). Custom sizes engineered on request.
Is it solar-powered?
Yes. It runs on solar with battery storage and can use grid power as a hybrid backup, so drying continues 24/7 regardless of weather.
How does it reduce post-harvest losses?
By replacing weather-dependent open-air drying with a controlled, enclosed, monitored environment. Synnefa deployments have measured 25–45% reductions in post-harvest loss, with lower aflatoxin risk and export-grade consistency.
What are FarmShield and FarmCloud?
FarmShield™ is the IoT sensor system that monitors temperature, humidity and drying conditions and controls the fans automatically. FarmCloud™ records every batch for full traceability, manages farmer data and connects you to buyers.
How do I buy a Smart Solar Dryer and how much does it cost?
Pricing is tailored to your country, crop, volume and site, so we provide a custom quote rather than a fixed price. Acquire through Direct Purchase, Rent-to-Own, or Field Drying-as-a-Service. Share your crop and volumes for a sized recommendation within 48 hours.
Which countries does Synnefa operate in?
Synnefa is active in Kenya, Ghana and Uganda, with local site assessment, installation, operator training and after-sales support in each market.
Do you support sites that already have a structure or grid power?
Yes. Retrofit packages integrate Synnefa fans, solar and FarmShield™ IoT into existing infrastructure — a site assessment determines the lowest-cost upgrade path.
Ready to cut your post-harvest loss this season?
Tell us your crop, volume and moisture profile — we'll come back within 48 hours with a sized recommendation, the right acquisition mode (Buy / Rent-to-Own / DaaS / Retrofit), and an indicative quote.
✓ Site visit ✓ Free sizing ✓ Custom quote in 48h