FAO-IRENA report on renewable energy for agri-food systems

IRENA and FAO. 2021. Renewable energy for agri-food systems – Towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris agreement. Abu Dhabi and Rome

The production, distribution, and consumption of food use about a third of the world’s energy and is responsible for about a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, making its decoupling from fossil fuels a priority in the fight against climate change.

This new report launched on the sidelines of the UN’s Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow explores the relationship between the world’s agri-food systems and renewable energy and argues that solutions are within our grasp.

Solar irrigation, for example, is being widely adopted to improve access to water, enabling multiple cropping cycles and increasing resilience to changing rainfall patterns. In India, the use of solar irrigation pumps has raised farmers’ incomes by at least 50 per cent compared to rain-fed irrigation; in Rwanda, smallholder farmers’ yields have grown by about a third.

The report, Renewable energy for agri-food systems – Towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris agreement, is the result of a joint effort between the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

The 89-page report breaks down unhelpful silos between energy and agri-food policies by providing recommendations for decision-makers. These include better data collection to guide renewable energy investments, improved access to finance for end-users and businesses, and a greater focus on raising awareness and building capacity.