Energy Access for Enhanced Agricultural Productivity in Northern Nigeria
By Prado Power Limited.
THE CHALLENGE
Agriculture is the predominant occupation in rural Nigeria. However, the country is often plagued by food shortages as a result of a lack of electricity for post-harvest processing, irrigation, and food storage. In many rural and conflict-affected settings, there is no grid power and consequently no access to electricity to enhance agricultural yields. This hinders smallholder farmers from maximizing their sales and adopting the latest agricultural technologies, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty affecting many rural communities in Nigeria.
THE SOLUTION
Prado Power Limited attempted to bridge Nigeria’s electricity access divide by providing power for irrigation, farming, post-harvest storage, and processing for rice, maize, cassava, and milk – four of the major agricultural products in the region. Their innovation combined modular solar energy systems and machinery (including solar water pumps, grinding machines, and threshing machines) to support agriculture in areas with no grid power. By providing Solar Home Systems and/or access to water, agriculture processing facilities, and storage equipment (all made available through a centralized Hub), Prado Power provided 2,711 individuals with effective technologies to improve their agricultural yields and sales. In the process, they also created employment for 22 women and young girls by providing jobs at the Hub in processing agricultural produce. Subsequent impact assessments revealed that 3,208 saw increased incomes as a direct result of utilizing Prado’s products or services. Additionally, 5 health workers, 2 humanitarian aid workers, 33 public service providers, 17 private service providers, and over 200 family members were trained to utilize Prado’s products to serve a larger population, thereby establishing a foundation for further scaling the innovation’s humanitarian impact. In recognition of its accomplishments, Prado Power was awarded the 2021 Power Africa Off-grid Investment Pitch Competition in Nigeria.
