Keur Aly Bassine (Kaolack), October 2 (APS) – The National Agency for Renewable Energies (ANER) is preparing an equipment program aimed at reducing the energy consumption of agricultural farms by equipping them with solar water pumps, announced its general director, Diouma Kobor.
”We are preparing a program to support agricultural farms to install solar pumping works,” he said at the end of a visit made Tuesday to Keur Aly Bassine, a village in the commune of Latmingué (center).
The aim of this initiative is to allow farmers, ”beyond the rainy season, to be able to carry out market gardening activities with much lower water bills than what currently exists,” said Mr. Kobor.
According to him, this program will receive funding of 2.5 million euros, 1.6 billion CFA francs, from the European Union.
”We have observed that in rural areas, the difficulty faced by populations is that they pay more expensive bills than those in urban areas. Which is not at all normal, especially since the authorities want fair and equitable development in a prosperous country,” he explained.
According to the general director of ANER, this objective cannot be achieved if rural populations do not have the same advantages as those in cities.
He announced the signing, ”next week”, of a partnership agreement with the Rural Drilling Agency, with a view to the solarization of all boreholes and the reduction of the energy bill.
Diouma Kobor points out that the promotion of renewable energies corresponds to ”a strategic vision” of the Senegalese authorities aimed at facilitating access to electricity for rural populations and reducing the State’s energy bill.
He announced that ANER is preparing several projects, including the empowerment of public buildings with electrical energy.
Diouma Kobor cited the project to install solar street lamps, ”of which 70 to 80% of the communes of Senegal have benefited from the second phase which is coming to an end”, while waiting for a third phase to distribute ”around 150,000 street lamps”.
A municipal distribution commission made up of administrative authorities, mayors, representatives of young people and women, priests and imams ”will be installed throughout the country for equitable treatment of this project,” he said. assured.
The general director of ANER also expressed his ambition to make hydraulic structures self-sufficient in electricity, using drilling powered by solar energy.
The National Agency for Renewable Energies aims to reach “another, much more important dimension, to impact all sectors of activity while taking into account territorial equity,” continued Mr. Kobor.
ADE/BK/ESF
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