scholarly journals A Comprehensive Approach to the Design of a Renewable Energy Microgrid for Rural Ethiopia: The Technical and Social Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3974
Author(s):  
Stergios Emmanouil ◽  
Jason Philhower ◽  
Sophie Macdonald ◽  
Fahad Khan Khadim ◽  
Meijian Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Capital Cost ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Sub Saharan

In view of Ethiopia’s significant renewable energy (RE) potential and the dynamic interactions among the components of the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) Nexus, we attempted to incorporate solar and small-scale hydropower into the optimal design of an environmentally friendly microgrid with the primary goal of ensuring the sustainability of irrigation water pumping, while taking advantage of existing infrastructure in various small administrative units (kebele). Any additional generated energy would be made available to the community for other needs, such as lighting and cooking, to support health and food security and improve the general quality of life. The novelty of the study stems from the utilization of in situ social data, retrieved during fieldwork interviews conducted in the kebele of interest, to ascertain the actual needs and habits of the local people. Based on these combined efforts, we were able to formulate a realistic energy demand plan for climatic conditions typical of Sub-Saharan Africa agricultural communities and analyze four different scenarios of the microgrid’s potential functionality and capital cost, given different tolerance levels of scheduled outages. We demonstrated that the RE-based microgrid would be socially and environmentally beneficial and its capital cost sensitive to the incorporation of individual or communal machines and appliances. Ultimately, the social impact investigation revealed the design would be welcomed by the local community, whose members already implement tailor-made solutions to support their agricultural activities. Finally, we argue that extended educational programs and unambiguous policies should be in place before any implementation to ensure the venture’s sustainability and functionality.

scholarly journals The economics of renewable energy expansion in rural Sub-Saharan Africa

Energy Policy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwe Deichmann ◽  
Craig Meisner ◽  
Siobhan Murray ◽  
David Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Energy Expansion

Extension education strategy for minimizing aflatoxin impact on sub-Saharan African agriculture and food systems

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ayeni
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Exchange ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Aflatoxin Contamination ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Extension Education ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Extension Services ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Sub Saharan

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the most vulnerable region of the world to all aflatoxin-related problems including food insecurity, ill health and reduced foreign exchange earnings. Aflatoxin-contaminated maize, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum and other crops reduce human access to adequate calories from these staples; consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated foods results in severe health conditions, including liver cancer, that deny the region a significant amount of otherwise productive man-hours; while the reduction of grain quality below the international standards due to aflatoxin contamination drastically reduces income in foreign exchange earnings. Scientific knowledge of the causes of aflatoxins in agricultural systems and their mitigation abounds in research institutions in SSA and internationally, but most of this knowledge is unavailable to farmers, food consumers and policy makers in useful form due to poor extension education and ineffective extension services. A paradigm shift in the approach to extension in SSA is proposed, one driven by a sustainable mechanism that is sensitive to the needs of the people and proactive (rather than reactive) in providing solutions to aflatoxin-related problems the local community and policy makers have to deal with. This paper argues that such sustainable mechanism may only be found in a University-based and University-run ‘land grant’ type extension services adapted appropriately to SSA conditions.

scholarly journals Shallow groundwater in sub-Saharan Africa: neglected opportunity for sustainable intensification of small-scale agriculture?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gowing ◽  
Geoff Parkin ◽  
Nathan Forsythe ◽  
David Walker ◽  
Alemseged Tamiru Haile ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Resources ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Sustainable Intensification ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Small Scale Irrigation

Abstract. There is a need for an evidence-based approach to identify how best to support development of groundwater for small scale irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We argue that it is important to focus this effort on shallow groundwater resources which are most likely to be used by poor rural communities in SSA. However, it is important to consider constraints, since shallow groundwater resources are likely to be vulnerable to over-exploitation and climatic variability. We examine here the opportunities and constraints and draw upon evidence from Ethiopia. We present a methodology for assessing and interpreting available shallow groundwater resources and argue that participatory monitoring of local water resources is desirable and feasible. We consider possib le models for developing distributed small-scale irrigation and assess its technical feasibility. Because of power limits on water lifting and also because of available technology for well construction, groundwater at depths of 50 m or 60 m cannot be regarded as easily accessible for small-scale irrigation. We therefore adopt a working definition of shallow groundwater as < 20 m depth. This detailed case study in the Dangila woreda in Ethiopia explores the feasibility of exploiting shallow groundwater for small-scale irrigation over a range of rainfall conditions. Variability of rainfall over the study period (9 % to 96 % probability of non-exceedance) does not translate into equivalent variability in groundwater levels and river baseflow. Groundwater levels, monitored by local communities, persist into the dry season to at least the end of December in most shallow wells, indicating that groundwater is available for irrigation use after the cessation of the wet season. Arguments historically put forward against the promotion of groundwater use for agriculture in SSA on the basis that aquifers are unproductive and irrigation will have unacceptable impacts on wetlands and other groundwater-dependent ecosystems appear exaggerated. It would be unwise to generalise from this case study to the whole of SSA, but useful insights into the wider issues are revealed by the case study approach. We believe there is a case for arguing that shallow groundwater in sub-Saharan Africa represents a neglected opportunity for sustainable intensification of small-scale agriculture.

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