About the EAP

The Energizing Agriculture Programme pairs electricity access with the means to use it in minigrid communities throughout Nigeria.

As distributed energy resources (DERs) are deployed across Nigeria, newly connected customers and communities need help in accessing the means to use their power and unlock the benefits of reliable energy access. Agriculture is the economic backbone of rural Nigerian communities where DERs are often the lowest-cost electrification option. Using electricity productively in agricultural value chains can drive a virtuous cycle where new agricultural industries improve incomes of community members and the economics of local DERs, catalyzing more investment in DERs and machinery and accelerating local economies.

The EAP is accelerating productive uses of DERs by:

Helping energy and agriculture programs collaborate across sectors by developing a pipeline of agriculture-energy projects.
Identifying, testing, and scaling commercially viable agriculture-electrification solutions and models through a project-focused Innovation Accelerator.

Across these activities, the EAP is designed to ensure local ownership of solutions and scaling by partnering widely and sharing insights broadly.

The EAP is organized into three components. The first will support collaboration between energy and agriculture programs by convening the Working Group on Agricultural Development and Electrification. This group will work together to optimize investments across sectors, resulting in a pipeline of on-ground projects. The Agriculture-Energy Innovation Accelerator will work with cross-sectoral teams to pilot agriculture-energy solutions at minigrids throughout the country. Additionally, the EAP will provide Non-Market Services to support these efforts, including collecting and publishing data that commercially-motivated actors can use to find opportunities at the ag-energy nexus.

If implemented at scale, these productive use initiatives in Nigeria are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.4 million tons of CO₂ by 2030 and 7.4 million tons over the full life cycles of the supported electric machinery. The EAP could lead to the creation or improvement of over 150,000 jobs and boost the livelihoods of nearly four million Nigerians. If successful, the EAP will help prove a new scalable model for rural development.

Our Team

Mohammed Jibril

Programme Technical Lead

Mohammed has a background in electrical and electronics engineering, renewable energy systems, and sustainable development. He serves as the programme technical lead for the EAP Agriculture Electrification Pipeline, the program component seeking to support collaboration between energy and agriculture national programs to optimize investments across sectors.

Scarlett Santana

Programme Lead

Scarlett was part of the core team that designed the EAP and oversees its execution. Scarlett oversaw the effort to find, fund, and scale the first cohort of pilots under the Innovation Accelerator in Nigeria. The EAP Innovation Accelerator is the program component seeking to develop and scale market-models that pair electricity access with the means to use it.

Andrew Allee

Innovation Accelerator Manager

Andrew applies his technical background in distributed renewable energy and engineering to support EAP Accelerator teams. He has written previously on energy, agriculture, food, and land use, and has worked in Nigeria for five years. He manages the Innovation Accelerator.

Genevieve Lillis

Demand Unit Lead

Genevieve has an MS in agricultural sciences and has experience incorporating distributed energy resources into grid planning processes and facilitating collaborative problem-solving with diverse stakeholder groups. She leads the scaling strategy for the EAP Innovation Accelerator.

Habiba Ahut Daggash

Accelerator Team Lead

Habiba has a PhD in energy systems planning and experience supporting the commercialisation of clean energy technologies in Nigeria. She leads the rice milling and oil palm processing pilots in the EAP Innovation Accelerator.

Deji Ojo

Accelerator Team Lead

Deji Ojo has a PhD in agricultural economics and is experienced in project implementation, monitoring, evaluation, research, and capacity building. He leads the Innovation Accelerator team focused on testing electric two-wheelers for farm logistics.

Folawiyo Aminu

Accelerator Team Lead

Fola is renewable energy professional working to accelerate affordable, reliable, and clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa. He leads the cold storage pilots in the Innovation Accelerator.

Zainab Yahaya-Edu

Project Operations Manager

Zainab holds a master’s degree in international development and human resource management. She has experience managing technical teams and currently manages the operational aspects of the EAP Agriculture Electrification Pipeline.

Millicent Lafe

Productive Use Expert

Millicent has a master’s degree in international development and over five years of experience developing replicable business models and engaging in market system development. She is the productive use expert for the EAP Agriculture Electrification Pipeline.

Aisha Mazamaza

Data Manager

Aisha Mazamaza is a mechanical engineer with an MSc. in data science and experience in renewable energy development. She leads data collection and management for the EAP Agriculture Electrification Pipeline.

Benson Kibiti

Communications Manager

Benson Kibiti is a communication for development specialist with 12 years of experience in strategic communications, branding, media relations, and digital marketing across environmental sustainability, energy, policy, and agriculture portfolios. He coordinates communication activities for the EAP.

David Otu

Communications Specialist

David Otu is a communication professional with over eight years of experience in conventional and emerging media strategies. He coordinates communication activities for the EAP.