The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to agrivoltaic farming, an innovative method that combines crop cultivation and solar energy production on the same land to address Nigeria’s food and energy challenges.
Uche Nnaji, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, made this known on Tuesday at the maiden International Agrivoltaics Workshop held in Abuja.
The event also marked the official unveiling of the book “Democratising the Sun: Agrivoltaics and the Future of Farming in Nigeria and Africa.”
The Lichipu for Food, Energy and Water Sustainability (LIFEWS) Foundation organised the workshop in collaboration with the University of Abuja and Oregon State University, USA.
The theme of the workshop was “Agrivoltaics and Climate-Resilient Agriculture in Nigeria and Africa: Scaling Innovations for Food, Energy, Water Security, and the Common Good.”
Represented by his Special Assistant on Project Delivery, Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr Ezebuiro Christ Peace, the minister said, “Agrivoltaics, the combination of solar energy harvesting and agricultural productivity, stands as a model solution that demonstrates how we can optimise land use, generate clean energy, ensure food security and build a resilient climate for everyone.”
He stated that the ministry is committed to using innovation to transform rural communities and build a diversified, knowledge-based economy.
“Our country is blessed with ample sunlight and rich agricultural potential. Yet, energy access and food insecurity remain major challenges which we think agrivoltaics can help, especially in the area of expanding off-grid solar infrastructure in farming communities,” he said.
Nnaji noted that agrivoltaic systems can improve crop performance by creating microclimates that reduce evapotranspiration and enhance water-use efficiency.
“Today’s launch of the book, Democratising the Sun, is especially symbolic, and the title itself speaks volumes. Sunlight, the most democratic of all energy sources, should not remain the privilege of a few,” he added.
He revealed that Nigeria has already started integrating plants into solar farms and that new policies are being developed to drive such innovation.
“We are also collaborating with tertiary institutions for science, technology, innovation-based community impacts around solar energy, food production and a whole lot of them,” Nnaji said.
He added that the government aims to locally manufacture solar panels in the coming months, saying, “The Ministry values international partnerships that empower local solutions, such as what we are witnessing here today.”
The Founder of the LIFEWS Foundation and author of the book, Mr Gabriel Ayayia, said the foundation introduced agrivoltaic farming to promote food sovereignty in the country.
“What we are promoting today is a new way of farming, which is a climate-smart agriculture, climate-smart farming. So, instead of just farming traditionally, we are thinking of reimagining agricultural practices,” Ayayia said.
He explained that the model encourages land ownership and shared responsibility among rural communities.
“People having land ownership, people having shared responsibility to take charge of what they can grow, how they can grow it and where they can grow it,” he said.
Addressing affordability concerns, he stated, “That is why this technology is founded on leadership, which is let’s do it together. We are trying to see how we can start manufacturing locally made solar panels that can be very cheap, so that any common farmer can afford to buy it.”
Ayayia said that efforts would begin with educating rural communities on the benefits of agrivoltaic farming.
“And when that happens, hopefully, if the government buys into it, I think it can be very affordable and useful to the rural community,” he said.
Dr Chad Higgins, an agrivoltaics expert from the Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering at Oregon State University, emphasised the sun’s importance as a resource for agriculture.
“So, the sun is a critical resource that must be managed. And there’s so much energy in the sun. It shines on every land. It is a generous resource that we can use and take a portion of it,” he said.
The Federal Government said it will continue to support scalable, climate-smart innovations, such as agrivoltaics.
“Let us grow the food that we need, generate the energy that we need to grow that food, and that will enhance the hope of Nigerians,” Nnaji concluded.
