Harvesting the sun twice: Enhancing livelihoods in East African agricultural communities through innovations in solar energy

两次收获阳光：通过太阳能创新改善东非农业社区的生计

• 批准号: ES/T006293/1
• 负责人: Sue Hartley
• 金额: $ 164.48万
• 依托单位: University of Sheffield
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FT006293%2F1
• 关键词: Harvesting; sun; twice; Enhancing; livelihoods

Access to energy is a widespread problem across East Africa, where 73% of the population still do not have reliable electricity. Proving secure and affordable energy infrastructure is crucial to promoting inclusive development of rural communities in this region, and solar power is a sustainable way of achieving this. However, ground mounted arrays of solar panels also remove land from food production at a time when crop yields are threatened by a changing climate and increasing populations, insecure ownership and land "grabbing" are putting pressure on land resources. In practice, economic growth linked to conventional solar arrays may be outweighed by reduced income from crop production and greater food insecurity. Renewable energy technologies which resolve energy, climate and land security conflicts are urgently needed.So called agrivoltiac (AV) systems permit the delivery of solar electricity, crop production, and rainwater harvesting on the same land area. Instead of being ground mounted, arrays are several meters high, enabling crops to be grown underneath. In locations with high light intensity, high temperature, and low rainfall, such as many places in East Africa, the productivity of crops grown beneath these elevated solar arrays can be significantly improved because shade from the panels creates a more favourable growing environment with reduced heat stress and water loss. This more favourable environment for plants means the range of crops can be extended to higher-value ones, which can improve farmer incomes in disadvantaged rural communities. Crops may also be grown in locations previously unsuitable, further increasing food supplies and revenue sources.Working with African solar developers and a Kenyan agribusiness company, as well as non-governmental organisations, regional political organisations and local communities, we have identified case study sites in Kenya and Uganda where solar arrays are being installed and our interdisciplinary research can be conducted. The project aims to provide a real test case for the application and adaptation of AV systems to the needs of communities in Eastern Africa by:a) Identifying areas in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania that are most physically suitable (e.g. climate, existing land use, lack of energy access) for realising the benefits of AV systems and their uptake by communities.b) Field testing of AV systems in communities in Kenya & Uganda to provide data on resulting livelihood enhancement (increasing crop yield and farmer income, access to sustainable energy) as well as perceptions and attitudes of rural communities to AV systems.c) Using the data collected to develop a decision support tool for regional and national governments and NGOs to deliver AV systems effectively and in line with community needs.The findings from this project will reveal the potential this technology to lead to livelihood improved access to energy and increased incomes through production of higher-value crops, as well as the barriers within local communities to the uptake of AV systems. It will also show which economic, social, cultural and political factors help or hinder the expansion of AV systems in this region. We will assess how AV technology can best be co-designed with the users and seek input from national and regional policymakers to inform the potential rollout of AV systems across East Africa and potentially beyond.

能源供应是东非普遍存在的问题，73%的人口仍然没有可靠的电力供应。证明安全和负担得起的能源基础设施对于促进该地区农村社区的包容性发展至关重要，而太阳能发电是实现这一目标的可持续方式。然而，地面安装的太阳能电池板阵列也使土地无法用于粮食生产，而此时作物产量受到气候变化和人口增加的威胁，所有权不安全和土地“掠夺”正在给土地资源带来压力。在实践中，与传统太阳能电池阵列相关的经济增长可能被作物生产收入的减少和粮食更无保障所抵消。解决能源、气候和土地安全冲突的可再生能源技术是迫切需要的。所谓的农业（AV）系统允许在同一土地上提供太阳能电力、作物生产和雨水收集。而不是地面安装，阵列是几米高，使作物种植在下面。在光照强度高、温度高、降雨量少的地区，如东非的许多地方，在这些高架太阳能电池板下种植的作物的生产力可以显著提高，因为太阳能电池板的阴影创造了一个更有利的生长环境，减少了热应力和水分流失。这种对植物更有利的环境意味着作物的范围可以扩大到更高价值的作物，这可以提高贫困农村社区农民的收入。我们与非洲太阳能开发商、肯尼亚一家农业综合企业以及非政府组织、地区政治组织和当地社区合作，在肯尼亚和乌干达确定了安装太阳能电池板的案例研究地点，并开展了跨学科研究。该项目旨在提供一个真实的测试案例，以应用和调整视听系统，满足东非社区的需求，具体做法是：（a）确定肯尼亚、乌干达和坦桑尼亚境内最适合自然条件的地区（例如气候、现有土地利用、缺乏能源获取），以实现AV系统的好处及其被社区采用。B）在肯尼亚和乌干达的社区中对AV系统进行现场测试，以提供有关由此产生的生计改善的数据（增加农作物产量和农民收入，获得可持续能源）以及农村社区对反车辆系统的看法和态度。利用收集到的数据，为地区和国家政府以及非政府组织开发决策支持工具，以有效地提供AV系统，并符合社区需求。该项目的研究结果将揭示该技术在改善生计、获得能源和通过生产高价值作物增加收入，以及当地社区内采用反车辆系统的障碍。它还将显示哪些经济、社会、文化和政治因素有助于或阻碍该地区AV系统的扩展。我们将评估如何最好地与用户共同设计AV技术，并寻求国家和区域政策制定者的意见，以告知东非和其他地区可能推出的AV系统。