Solar Power Boosts Food Production & Fights Poverty

Author:
Team IRENA

We all know that solar power offers myriad health and environmental benefits over traditional energy sources — including reduced emissions and improved air quality — but the social benefits it offers are perhaps less well known. A new paper from IRENA, launched today at InterSolar Europe in Munich, highlights the way solar technology is being used to power food production and empower communities to escape poverty.

Solar Pumping for Irrigation: Improving livelihoods and sustainability, details how solar technology is being used to improve farming efficiency and agricultural output, highlighting successful examples from across Africa and Asia.

A growing need for change

According to the United Nations, more than 40% of the world’s population makes a living in the agriculture sector — many of whom live in poverty. Socio-economic development is strongly linked to agricultural productivity, and as climate change continues to disrupt rainfall patterns, developing irrigation is becoming a vital tool to combat poverty. Given that only 5% of sub-Saharan African farmland irrigated, and that the continent is home to one of the fastest growing populations on the planet, the need to produce more food and energy is becoming critical.

The article's full-text is available here.

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