Power Minister targets renewable energy to revolutionise agriculture, cut post-harvest losses
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Federal Government has unveiled a fresh strategy to deploy renewable energy as a catalyst for agricultural transformation, declaring that electricity must move beyond powering homes to driving productivity, creating jobs and strengthening Nigeria’s food security.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, made the declaration on Wednesday at the National Stakeholders’ Engagement Workshop on the Productive Use of Energy (PUE) in Abuja, where he said the government was repositioning rural electrification as a tool for economic development rather than merely expanding electricity access.
Joseph Tegbe said the Tinubu administration’s energy diversification agenda recognises that “rural electrification is no longer about extending wires into communities. It is about extending opportunity, creating prosperity and enabling enterprise.”
He commended the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) for convening the workshop, describing it as a critical platform for shaping Nigeria’s next phase of rural economic transformation.
The minister noted that while electricity sector performance is often measured by megawatts generated or the number of communities connected to the grid, the true measure of success lies in how power improves livelihoods and boosts economic activities.
According to him, access to reliable electricity should enable farmers to irrigate more land, power rice mills, preserve farm produce in cold rooms, reduce processing losses and support rural entrepreneurs to establish agro-processing businesses.
“Electricity, by itself, does not transform an economy. Electricity becomes transformational only when it powers productivity,” Adelabu said.
He identified the Productive Use of Energy initiative as a critical link between energy, agriculture, industrialisation, financial inclusion, climate resilience and job creation, stressing that it addresses many of Nigeria’s pressing development priorities simultaneously.
Despite Nigeria’s vast agricultural potential, the minister lamented that huge volumes of produce are still lost due to inadequate cold storage, limited processing capacity and the high cost of energy-intensive equipment.
He said energy-efficient agricultural technologies would reduce operating costs for farmers, increase productivity, improve incomes and create new investment opportunities for financial institutions, equipment manufacturers and technology providers while boosting local economic development and food security.
Joseph Tegbe urged policymakers, financiers, regulators, manufacturers, farmers and development partners attending the workshop to focus on practical, evidence-based solutions capable of accelerating the deployment of renewable energy technologies across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
He expressed confidence that the deliberations would shape new policies, unlock investments and position Nigeria as Africa’s leading market for productive use of renewable energy in agriculture.
“The future of Nigeria’s energy transition will be built not by individual institutions working in isolation, but by partnerships united around a common purpose,” he said.
The minister added that the government’s ultimate goal is to ensure that “every kilowatt of electricity deployed in rural Nigeria powers prosperity.”
