Writing by Teddy Daniel; Editing By Yusuf Zubairu
Propcom+, a UK funded programme through the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office FCDO, has intensified efforts to promote climate smart agriculture by deploying innovative technologies that address climate related challenges facing smallholder farmers.
Speaking at the end of a pilot assessment in unlocking cold chain innovation in Kaduna,Strategy Director of the program Mr Olumide Ojo said the intervention targeted the long standing breakdowns in Nigeria’s livestock vaccine cold chain especially at the last mile.
“farmers were struggling to access potent vaccines because the cold chain kept breaking down, so we introduced solar refrigerators to keep vaccines safe and available ,and our goal is to ensure animal health vaccines remain potent and accessible, even in the most remote communities”,he said
Mr Olamidi explained that the introduction of solar refrigeration has delivered steady power, reduced operational costs, and safeguarded the potency of livestock vaccines.
According to him, agro vets who adopt the technology no longer rely on erratic grid supply or expensive generators, allowing them to save money, expand market reach, and maintain vaccine integrity.
He noted that the pilot, implemented over the last 6 to 12 months, shows clear cost advantages adding that the technology is already attracting interest from financial institutions because its return on investment is strong and predictable.
The Director stressed that increased financing for agro vets to acquire these solar systems could spread the technology across rural communities in the country adding that Nigeria could begin to see a reduction in its $9 billion annual livestock disease burden, as reliable cold storage improves access to safe and potent vaccines nationwide.
In a remark during a paper presentation,Dr Babatunde David said the commercial viability study of the solar refrigerator models on the Palladium platform shows that both the technology and delivery models are viable and have strong potential for nationwide scale up.
He stated that the financial analysis also showed impressive results, with most agro vets recording short payback periods, making the solar fridge model attractive, bankable, and suitable for investment by commercial and development finance institutions.
The development expert recommended an immediate scale up of the initiative, stressing that the pilot phase successfully reached 42 agro vets and has provided clear evidence of technological reliability, model strength, and commercial feasibility.
He said expanding the programme nationwide would enable thousands of farmers and agro dealers to benefit from improved cold chain access.
Dr. David further assured that the system is accessible to the end users, including livestock farmers, noting that blended financing options and zero off-take cost models used in the pilot phase demonstrate affordability.
