Power Punch RE as a Means to Improve Agriculture in Nigeria by Doose Iortyom March 20, 2023 Published by Doose Iortyom Despite Nigeria’s enormous agricultural potential, the sector remains largely under-tapped. More than 80 per cent of farmers in Nigeria are smallholder farmers who face numerous challenges, including low productivity due to a lack of adoption of improved farming methods, inputs and access to credit. Hence, the need to explore the option of renewable energy (RE) as a means to improve agriculture in Nigeria. Many rural farmers rely on rain to meet their agricultural needs, which has proven inefficient and unreliable. As climate change continues to wreak havoc on our food systems, dependency on the rain will become even more unreliable. RE solutions offer an opportunity to address these challenges and develop Nigeria’s agricultural sector. The first step to achieving sustainable agriculture is to understand how vital energy is to its progress and growth. Agriculture constitutes Nigeria’s most significant non-oil revenue, contributing 24.45 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020 and employing about 70 per cent of the entire labour force. Modern agriculture requires energy to power farm machinery, equipment and facilities. Adopting clean technologies for our agricultural production and processing systems is critical to moving beyond subsistence farming towards commercial agriculture. This would enable food security, added value in rural areas and expansion into new agricultural markets. Exploring RE as a means to improve agriculture in Nigeria can be achieved using solar photovoltaic panels to aid the preservation of food products, especially in the country’s northern regions. Nigeria’s geographical position along the equator ensures adequate sunshine, giving a high potential for solar energy utilization. Also, solar energy can power irrigation systems, reducing the dependence on rainfall and increasing crop yields. Wind energy can as well be harnessed to power farms and rural communities, providing reliable and affordable energy. In addition, huge volumes of agricultural wastes can be converted into potential sources of energy that can be plowed back into agricultural production and processing activities with the use of a biodigester. These waste products include livestock manure, corn cobs, cassava peelings, rice husks, groundnut shells, sawdust. Exploring RE as a means to improve agriculture has shown great promise in some African countries. In 2022, Kenya launched the first agrivoltaics system, developed to deliver solar electricity, crop production and rainwater harvesting on the same land area to provide to provide food security benefits. Despite the potential benefits RE solutions in developing Nigeria’s agricultural sector, several challenges include a lack of awareness about these solutions, high costs, limited technical expertise among farmers, and a lack of supportive policies and regulations to promote adoption. In addressing these challenges faced in the agricultural sector, there is a need for increased investment in RE technologies and infrastructure, which includes providing financing options accessible to smallholder farmers and rural communities. Furthermore, awareness and education on RE technologies among farmers and rural communities must be increased. This is achievable through training programs and awareness campaigns. Finally, supportive policies and regulations are crucial to promoting the adaptation of RE solutions in the agricultural sector. These policies can include incentives for farmers and rural communities to adopt these technologies and regulations that encourage integrating RE solutions in agricultural value chains. RE solutions offer a significant opportunity to develop Nigeria’s agricultural sector and address the challenges that hinder its growth. By investing in these technologies and infrastructure, increasing awareness and education on renewable energy technologies, and promoting supportive policies and regulations, Nigeria can unlock the potential of its agricultural sector and achieve sustainable development. March 20, 2023 0 comments 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Power Punch Energy and Food Security by Aisi Atiti October 5, 2022 Published by Aisi Atiti For humans to thrive and contribute to their communities, they must be able to access basic needs. Psychologist Abraham Maslow classified basic human needs as food, water, shelter and sleep. According to Maslow’s paper, Theory of Human Motivation, consciousness is almost completely pre-empted by hunger. However, in the world today, hunger is still an issue, especially in underdeveloped countries. As part of addressing this challenge, the link between energy and food security must be explored. Access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is required to achieve most, if not all, the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG2 aims to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. However, ending hunger depends on food availability, access, utilisation and stability, which all rely on energy access. The link between energy and food security can be seen across the different stages of food production, from agriculture to processing to storage. In agriculture, energy is used to manufacture fertilisers and pesticides, operate irrigation systems and even operate farm equipment such as tractors. This means that a lack of energy to power these types of equipment would result in food unavailability. Also, to enable access to harvested food, the food must first be processed and then transported, which also requires energy. In no particular order, processing can broadly be broken into cleaning, cooking, cooling, extraction, baking, pureeing, brewing, pasteurising, boiling and drying. Electricity makes up about 50% of the energy used in processing foods such as meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and edible oils. Approximately 14% of the food produced worldwide is lost annually between harvest and the retail market. A major contributor to this is the lack of adequate food storage systems. Apart from causing food insecurity, food loss affects the producers, leading to a 15% reduction in income, while also contributing as the world’s third-largest emitter of CO2. Improving storage systems, especially in developing countries, will go a long way in reducing food lost to waste globally. This is because refrigerating food requires reliable energy, and most developing countries, especially in Africa, have a high rate of energy poverty. In order to address this, alternate energy sources must be employed by agricultural communities that lack grid connection, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. These alternate energy sources could be in the form of hydro or solar-powered mini-grids to enable agricultural productivity and income generation. In addition, developing and employing cooling systems for harvested and processed food would go a long way in reducing the percentage of food lost. This translates into more available food to both local and international consumers. In Nigeria, the estimated food waste percentage is 40% of all food produced, according to the World Bank. ColdHubs are solar-powered walk-in cold rooms developed and operated in Nigeria by ColdHubs Ltd. These cold rooms are for rent and installed in rural farms and markets that are unserved or underserved by grid lines. The cold rooms extend the shelf life of perishable foods such as fruits and vegetables for about 21 days. This technology reduces food wastage and improves the income generated by farmers on their produce. The link between energy and food security is key to achieving the targets of SDG2. These targets include ending hunger, ending all forms of malnutrition and improving agricultural productivity by 2030. In addition, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy used productively to produce food will also improve the development of clean energy projects globally, which would also help countries meet their climate action goals. October 5, 2022 0 comments 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
