The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to using rural electrification as a catalyst for agricultural productivity, job creation and economic growth, declaring that access to electricity must translate into tangible economic opportunities for rural communities.

Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, made the declaration at a Stakeholders’ Engagement Workshop on Productive Use of Energy (PUE) in Abuja, where government agencies, development partners, financiers, manufacturers, farmers’ associations and members of the diplomatic community met to develop a coordinated strategy for expanding energy access to Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

Speaking at the event, Tegbe said rural electrification should no longer be viewed simply as extending electricity infrastructure to underserved communities, but as a means of creating prosperity and supporting enterprise.

He stressed that the success of the power sector should not be based solely by the number of megawatts generated or households connected, but by the extent to which electricity improves productivity.

According to him, reliable power should enable farmers to irrigate more land, agro-processors to expand production, cold storage operators to preserve perishable produce and young entrepreneurs to establish businesses within their communities.

The minister described the Productive Use of Energy agenda as a strategic link between the power, agriculture and industrial sectors, noting that improved energy access could address persistent challenges such as post-harvest losses, inadequate cold storage, limited processing capacity and the high cost of energy-intensive equipment.

Tegbe said the initiative offers significant benefits across the agricultural value chain by lowering operating costs for farmers, creating bankable investment opportunities for financial institutions, expanding markets for manufacturers and supporting government efforts to stimulate rural development and increase revenue generation.

He urged stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and position Nigeria as a leader in Africa’s productive-use-of-energy market.

In his welcome address, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Abubakar Aliyu, said the engagement was aimed at establishing a sustainable framework for integrating energy into agriculture rather than implementing isolated projects.

Aliyu noted that the smallholder farmers and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) remain central to Nigeria’s food production system and highlighted the agency’s ongoing interventions to support productive energy use.

He disclosed that the REA’s Energising Agriculture Programme has developed a pipeline of more than 120 bankable project sites, while the Africa Mini-grids Programme continues to expand energy access in rural communities.

Aliyu also revealed that the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme has committed $250m for stand-alone solar systems, $100m for solar-as-a-business initiatives and $50m for productive-use equipment.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, represented at the workshop, pledged the ministry’s support for the initiative, describing reliable energy as critical to improving agricultural productivity and food security.

A representative of the ECOWAS Commission also reaffirmed the regional body’s commitment to supporting energy-driven agricultural transformation across West Africa, noting that Nigeria’s initiative aligns with broader regional efforts to promote sustainable rural development.

Organisers said the Abuja workshop is the first in a series of stakeholders’ engagements that would focus on financing models, technology standards and deployment strategies for productive-use energy equipment.

Participants expressed optimism that stronger collaboration between government, development partners and the private sector would accelerate investment in rural energy infrastructure, improve agricultural productivity and raise incomes across Nigeria’s rural communities.