$1.7m funding boost for innovators advancing clean energy agriculture technology

Efficiency for Access has awarded $1.7m of funding to innovators to help develop clean energy agricultural technologies and appliances in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. 

This support allows eleven organisations to develop agricultural technologies that improve post-harvest resilience and productivity of food systems in dairy, fish and horticulture value chains.

According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia’s food systems are critical in producing approximately 30% of most food commodities. However, 85% of smallholder farmers lack access to energy, and food loss and waste is around 37% in Sub-Saharan Africa.* Access to sustainable and affordable technologies such as cold storage or solar-powered drying of produce can support the reduction of food loss. It also improves access to market.

Included in the winning technologies are the following:

• CoolVeg Foundation: specialises in developing evaporative cooling chambers to provide pre-cooling for fruits and vegetables at the farmgate.
• Syneffa Green: an IoT greenhouse solar dryer technology, focusing primarily on the mango value chain.
• Savanna Circuit Technologies: a solar-powered universal chiller innovation to support last-mile cold chain logistics for fishing activities in Lake Victoria and arid and semi-arid areas of East Africa.
• Rural Aquaculture Development Rukungiri: plans to develop an ultra-low Global Warming Potential, low-cost refrigerated cool box system for the fish value chain in Uganda.

See the full list of successful grantees and their technologies.

The projects will include field trials to take place in the coming year in a number of countries including India, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Jolanda van Ginkel, programme manager renewable energy at IKEA Foundation, said:

“We recognise that the early-stage support provided by the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund holds the potential to significantly improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. By providing access to renewable energy solutions, we are empowering farmers to reduce food loss, increase productivity, and access new markets, thereby creating a more resilient and prosperous agricultural sector.”

Emilie Carmichael, head of international at Energy Saving Trust, said:

“These pioneering technologies are crucial for improving the livelihoods of rural communities in the Global South who are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Harnessing the power of clean energy, these innovative solutions provide vital support to smallholder farmers in boosting productivity and incomes while strengthening their resilience to climate-related challenges.”

The Efficiency for Access Research and Development fund launched the AgriTech call in November 2023. It was supported by the IKEA Foundation and UK aid from the UK Government via the Transforming Energy Access platform.  

Since 2018 the Efficiency for Access Research and Development Fund has provided more than £5million of support across 38 R&D projects. This support aims to accelerate innovation in the off- and weak-grid appliances sector.