Africa’s small-scale farmers are the backbone of the continent’s food system. They produce the majority of Africa’s food and provide livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people. Yet, despite their central role in food security, they remain among the most energy constrained actors in the economy.
Access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy remains a major challenge across agricultural value chains. For many small and medium-sized agribusinesses, energy is not just an operational input, it is one of their largest costs, often ranging from 20% to 50% of revenues1.
For many small-scale farmers, the challenge goes beyond the high energy costs. Operating on thin margins, volatile markets, facing climate risks, and limited access to finance, many are focused on day-to-day survival rather than long-term growth. Cash flows are often insufficient to cover capital expenditures for energy efficient equipment or clean energy solutions, even when those investments would reduce costs and increase productivity over time.
In addition, much of the sector’s energy demand is met through inefficient sources such as firewood, charcoal, and other forms of biomass. This is particularly true for heat-intensive processing activities, including fruit drying, baking, and pasteurization. In fish processing, for example, biomass-based fuels can account for as much as 70-90% of total energy consumption2.
Where electricity-based equipment is used, it is frequently powered by unreliable or expensive energy sources. Many farmers and processors rely on outdated electrical machinery connected to weak grids or backed by costly diesel generators. Even businesses that have access to the grid often face frequent power outages and voltage fluctuations, disrupting production schedules, increasing operating costs, and reducing product quality or increasing waste.
The challenge is particularly acute in food processing, which is the most energy-intensive stage of the agricultural value chain. In Africa, food processing accounts for approximately 42% of total energy consumption across food systems3.
Improving access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy is therefore not only an energy-sector priority, it is a prerequisite for agricultural transformation, local development, and food security across the continent.
Solar-powered productive use of energy equipment for food processing offers a practical and sustainable solution to these challenges. By powering technologies such as dryers, mills and refrigeration systems, solar energy can reduce operating costs, improve productivity, and enable greater value addition. Unlike diesel generators or biomass fuels, solar systems provide reliable energy with low operating costs, helping small-scale farmers and processors increase their incomes while reducing their dependence on expensive and inefficient energy sources.
Yet access to finance remains a significant barrier to adoption. Recognizing the importance of the agri-energy nexus, CEI Africa addresses this challenge through tailored financing solutions that combine investments, technical assistance, and grants. By unlocking access to productive-use energy (PUE) technologies, CEI Africa helps businesses reduce costs, increase productivity, expand value addition, and build more resilient communities.
For example, through its Smart Outcomes Fund (SOF), CEI Africa has prioritized PUE solutions supporting agricultural value chains. The CEI Africa portfolio spans cooling, milling, irrigation, and cold chain solutions which are critical for reducing post-harvest losses and increasing product value, with solutions deployed from fishing communities along Lake Turkana and Lake Kivu to agricultural hubs in Benin, Mali, Sierra Leone, and Kenya.
1,2,3 Partners in Food Solutions, SNV, & GAIN. (2025) Clean Energy to Nourish a Continent: Unlocking renewable power for Africa’s food systems. White paper. Clean Energy to Nourish a Continent | SNV
