The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has urged the Sagbokoji fishing community in Lagos with the importance of maintenance and training for ensuring the sustainability of solar-powered cold rooms.
The National Coordinator, GEF-SGP UNDP, Mrs Ibironke Olubamise, advised on Monday when the NGO organised a visit comprising 10 different NGOs from across Nigeria, to the community to share lessons learnt on the solar-powered cold room donated to them.
Olubamise said it was just a year after the inauguration of the solar-powered cold room in the Sagbokoji fishing community. Sagbokoji community is an Island comprising over 30,000 people in Apapa Local Government, opposite Tin-Can Island.
The project was to mainly support women in the riverine area, who formerly typically used charcoal and firewood to preserve their fishing produce.
Olubamise said that the project being the first of its kind, the residents should maintain it so that it would serve them better.
She said: “This is a pilot project and unforeseen issues and circumstances may arise and be resolved. The community will also require some further training and education on how to operate the solar-powered freezers and cold rooms to prevent equipment damage and foster optimal utilization.”
She noted that the field visit aimed to foster the sharing of lessons learnt from the solar-powered cold room project with representatives of 10 different NGOs from 9 different states across Nigeria, thereby exploring approaches for replicating the project in their communities, where possible.
The NEF Project Manager, Mr Adegoke Adebayo, said “Across the last 12 months, we have discussed with the community and worked together to establish and implement a project sustainability and operability model for ensuring adequate maintenance and optimal performance of the solar cold room.”
Adebayo said the next step includes more education and awareness creation for training the community on renewable energy technologies, capabilities and energy efficiency considerations.
“This will increase awareness of the community on approaches and skills required for sustainable operations and maintenance of the off-grid solar-powered cold room infrastructure.
“We are currently recruiting skilled personnel who can operate and maintain the project site in collaboration with the community representatives and also train residents.
“Also, we are making additional investments, expansion plans and modifications in the most efficient ways possible to increase the number of ice blocks that are currently produced with the existing infrastructure,” he said.
As a pilot project, Adebayo urged the residents to continue to identify potential opportunities for boosting economic growth using the project.
NEF Group Chairman, Dr Daniel Adeuyi, said additional project investments had been made for the integration of an Electric Cargo Tricycle to be powered using excess energy from the solar-powered cold room infrastructure.
He said that this electric vehicle would promote cleaner transportation and movement of the cold products and ice blocks from the cold room to the kitchens and nearby communities within Sagbokoji.
The Baale of the Sagbokoji fishing community, Chief Avime Anthony, said the cold room had brought prosperity to the area. According to the traditional head, everyone in the community is now benefiting from the project.
The General Secretary of the Sagbokoji community, Mr David Atodjinou, who is also in charge of the cold room technical committee of the community said “What we noticed from the inauguration day is that the solar cold room works well during the day but at night when the sun is not shinning it does not work till the next morning.
“So, we are inviting the NGO to accelerate the post-commissioning works so that the cold room will work both day and night for us and deliver increased quantities of ice blocks,” he said.