Decentralised Renewable Energy Innovations to Boost Agri-Sector Productivity & Address Global Food System Challenges

The report examines the role of decentralised renewable energy (DRE) in overcoming barriers to agricultural productivity, such as lack of energy access and finance. It presents 15 case studies across Africa, Asia, and South America, showcasing technologies like solar water pumps, cooling systems, and biomass steam engines. Key findings emphasize the need for holistic, customer-centric designs, innovative financing (including grants, equity, and debt), and the integration of capacity building to ensure long-term sustainability and job creation in rural communities.

• The global food system faces three primary challenges: feeding a projected 9.7 billion people by 2050, providing livelihoods for approximately 570 million farms, and protecting the environment, as agriculture contributes 11% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• Major barriers to agricultural productivity in emerging markets include lack of access to clean energy, water, high-quality seeds, modern machinery, finance, markets, and skilled labour, as well as a failure to consider gender dimensions.
• DRE technologies can significantly increase crop yields and income; for example, in Kenya, 87% of SunCulture's farmers reported increased production, and 80% saw an increase in earnings with an average revenue rise of 44% per season.
• Solar-powered cooling and processing innovations reduce post-harvest losses; Phaesun's solar milk cooling systems in Kenya reduced milk losses by approximately 25%, while Village Industrial Power's biomass dryers in Kenya address mango post-harvest losses that can reach up to 40%.
• Innovative financing is critical for DRE adoption, utilizing mixes of grants, equity, and debt. Examples include Boreal Light using carbon credit revenues to fund new projects and Gham Power using micro-finance institutions (MFIs) to provide 50-100% of system costs.
• Gender-mainstreaming in DRE projects improves sustainability and quality of life, such as reducing the distance women travel for water in Zimbabwe or providing local rice milling for women and widows in India.
• Holistic project design that serves multiple needs increases impact; Boreal Light's project in Kenya provided drinking water, irrigation, fish farming, sanitation, and mobile charging simultaneously.
• Capacity building and local involvement in operation and maintenance (O&M) are essential for long-term sustainability, with the DRE value chain projected to create 4.5 million jobs globally by 2030.
• The UNIDO/TESE project in Guinea-Bissau demonstrated that combining electrification with agro-development (such as micro-credits) and using a Public-Community Partnership (PCP) can increase electricity access from 5% to over 85% in a village.

APA

Alliance for Renewable Electrification (n.d.). Decentralised Renewable Energy Innovations to Boost Agri-Sector Productivity & Address Global Food System Challenges. https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Agri-Publication.pdf

Chicago

Alliance for Renewable Electrification. Decentralised Renewable Energy Innovations to Boost Agri-Sector Productivity & Address Global Food System Challenges. n.d. https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Agri-Publication.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Alliance for Renewable Electrification |title=Decentralised Renewable Energy Innovations to Boost Agri-Sector Productivity & Address Global Food System Challenges |url=https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Agri-Publication.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{allianceforrenewableelectrificationnddecentralised, author = {{Alliance for Renewable Electrification}}, title = {{Decentralised Renewable Energy Innovations to Boost Agri-Sector Productivity \& Address Global Food System Challenges}}, institution = {Alliance for Renewable Electrification}, url = {https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Agri-Publication.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }