Expert seeks usage of renewable energy

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Allowing farmers to use renewable energy technology on their farmers will help the nation meet its future food and energy needs, Director Africa Region, Cassava Adding Value for Africa (CAVA), Dr Kola Adebayo has said.

By generating on-farm electricity, he said farmers would be able to cut the costs of producing food and more likely to remain in business.

He said farms could be encouraged to explore renewable energy generation at any level or scale, as some have the land and the capacity to install those renewable energy schemes.

He said some farms have all the conditions necessary to generate power from renewable sources to support economic growth and development.

He stressed however that government needs to carry out extensive enlightenment campaign on the benefits of renewal energy.

He said most of the wastes generated in the country were biodegradable and could be harnessed for power generation to support the industry and economic development.

He said farms could overturn the unsustainable practice of dumping waste into the sea and explore opportunities for establishing a cyclical system to make waste management regenerative and eco-friendly.

He said running a farm business with rising costs and fluctuating returns was very unstable.

He added that sharp rises in the cost of energy were difficult to absorb, especially for farmers operating on tight margins but “wind energy is where you can get ahead of that curve.”

He said farmers could also be in the business of renewable energy. He added that if generating renewable energy helped a farm to remain in business then it also helped maintain food supplies and food security.”The idea of farmers diversifying into ‘pure energy’ as well as food energy makes a whole lot of sense.

He said the government could help jobs creation in rural communities and encourage the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy production from wind, solar, biomass and biofuels in farms and rural businesses.

He said there is need to preserve investments in programmes that provide beginning farmers with education and training, access to credit, and access to affordable land.