By Peace Udugba
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to transforming Nigeria’s rural economy by deploying electricity to drive agriculture, agro-processing and enterprise development.
Speaking at the Stakeholders’ Engagement Workshop on Productive Use of Energy (PUE) in Abuja, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said rural electrification should no longer be viewed as merely extending electricity lines to communities but as a strategy for creating opportunities, prosperity and sustainable economic growth.
The workshop brought together representatives of government agencies, development partners, financial institutions, manufacturers, farmers’ associations and members of the diplomatic community to develop a coordinated framework for using energy to improve agricultural productivity across the country.
Tegbe said the true impact of electricity should be measured by how it improves livelihoods rather than by the number of megawatts generated or households connected. According to him, electricity becomes transformational when it enables farmers to irrigate more land, powers rice mills to process larger volumes of produce, supports cold storage facilities for fish and vegetables, and creates opportunities for young entrepreneurs in agro-processing.
He described the Productive Use of Energy initiative as a key driver of energy access, agriculture, industrialisation, financial inclusion, food security and job creation. The minister noted that Nigeria continues to lose significant value between harvest and market due to inadequate cold storage, limited processing capacity and the high cost of energy-intensive equipment.
Tegbe added that the initiative presents strong business opportunities across the agricultural value chain by lowering operating costs for farmers, creating bankable assets for financial institutions, expanding markets for manufacturers and boosting government revenue through increased rural economic activities.
In his welcome address, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Abubakar Aliyu, said the engagement was aimed at building a sustainable system that would strengthen small-scale agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which he described as the backbone of Nigeria’s food system.
Aliyu highlighted the agency’s achievements under the Energising Agriculture Programme, which has developed a pipeline of more than 120 bankable project sites. He also disclosed that the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme has committed 250 million dollars for standalone solar systems, 100 million dollars for solar-as-a-business initiatives and 50 million dollars for productive-use equipment.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, represented at the event, expressed support for the initiative and aligned the ministry’s priorities with the Productive Use of Energy agenda. A representative of the ECOWAS Commission also reaffirmed the regional body’s commitment to promoting energy-driven agricultural transformation across West Africa.
The workshop is the first in a series of planned engagements expected to focus on financing models, technology standards and deployment strategies for productive-use equipment. Stakeholders expressed optimism that the collaboration between the Federal Government, REA, ECOWAS, development partners and the private sector would stimulate investment, innovation and higher incomes for rural communities across Nigeria.
