- The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) promotes solar irrigation in nine countries on the continent by 2025 in response to the effects of climate change, which pose risks of food insecurity, particularly in Africa.
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently launched the Large-Scale Solar Applications for Agriculture (LSSAA) programme. The initiative, which has a total cost of US$2 million and will last for two years, aims to incorporate solar energy into agricultural practices in nine African countries.
These nations suffer from drought, which is drying up farmers’ crops, and include Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Niger, Uganda, Senegal, Sudan, South Sudan, and Togo. The SSAAU “will provide beneficiaries with improved access to energy and a sustainable irrigation solution through new and innovative models of deploying solar water pumping (SWP) systems,” according to the ASI, in order to address this and safeguard the lives of rural populations in particular.
The intergovernmental organization with its headquarters in India plans to raise $1 billion by 2030 to invest in a variety of solar technologies that could promote sustainable development, particularly south of the Sahara where agriculture, according to the World Bank, generates 32% of GDP and up to 65% of employment. In order to boost agricultural output and the sector’s climate resilience in the area, UNDP is increasing its involvement in initiatives that emphasize solar irrigation.
For instance, to enhance farmers’ livelihoods and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the UN agency and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) are co-financing a $7 million initiative called Promoting Renewable Energy and Sustainable Financing in Sudan. The initiative launched in 2019 and is expected to be completed by 2023 with the deployment of 450 pumps powered by 5.12 and 3.12 kWp solar off-grid systems. These installations should replace the existing diesel-powered systems on farms in the Nile basin.