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Agriculture is the backbone of rural economies in sub-Saharan Africa. It provides livelihoods for a large majority of the population and is central for food security by supplying a substantial share of the food consumed locally. At the same time the sector represents the single greatest untapped opportunity for broad-based, sustainable growth—through higher productivity, stronger agricultural value chains, local processing of agricultural products, and better functioning regional markets.
Yet much of this potential remains untapped and, despite its importance, the sector remains chronically underserved not only by finance and infrastructure, but also by the very development interventions designed to support it.
The Energy–Water–Agriculture–Nutrition Nexus
Realising rural agricultural potential in Sub-Saharan Africa requires addressing structural challenges that lie at the intersection of energy, water, agriculture and nutrition. For example, farmers often need reliable energy to pump water for irrigation, power cold storage to prevent spoilage, or process crops locally to increase their value. Solar-powered solutions such as irrigation, cold chain infrastructure, or agro-processing powered by off-grid solar, can therefore influence what farmers are able to produce, store, and sell. However, deploying these solutions effectively demands strong cross-sector collaboration and actors who understand both the technologies and the agricultural systems in which they are used.
When Sectors Work in Isolation
In practice, these perspectives rarely come together. Agricultural policy makers and development practitioners often design interventions without a firm grasp of the renewable energy technologies available, or the market dynamics that govern their adoption. For instance, they may assume that heavy subsidisation is the only path to getting solar equipment into the hands of smallholders —overlooking how poorly designed subsidy schemes can undercut private solar providers and destabilise the very markets they are trying to grow. Meanwhile, energy experts who bring solar cooling or irrigation solutions to farming communities often know too little about the agricultural value chains they are entering: the crops, the buyers, the seasonality, the economics. As a result, each sector plans in its lane. And too often, projects fail or do not achieve their intended outcomes.
This is not a new diagnosis. Yet real intersectoral cooperation and planning— beyond light-touch consultation meetings — remains rare.
From Evidence to Action
The Agri-Energy Coalition is aiming to transform this status quo. Its flagship paper called Beyond Silos: Strengthening NexusCollaboration to Power Food Systems with Off-Grid Solar outlines these challenges and potential solutions by drawing on experiences from tangible case studies across sub-Saharan Africa. It makes a compelling case that genuine co-design between agricultural, energy, water and nutrition actors are not optional refinements — they are prerequisites for impact at scale.
These insights are now informing practical efforts to move the agenda forward. On 9 April, at the International Vienna Energy and Climate Forum (IVECF), the Agri-Energy Coalition will convene a 90-minute deep-dive session titled “Aim Higher: Overcoming Barriers to SustainableEnergy–Water–Agriculture–Nutrition Nexus Approaches on the Ground”. Co-organised by EnDev, Energy Saving Trust, and the Power for Food Partnership (coordinated by SNV), the session will draw on field experience — including the design of the Efficiency for Access Kenya Cold Chain Accelerator and diverse rural agri-energy projects in East and West Africa implemented by SNV’s Power for Food Partnership and EnDev, particularly under the Sustainable Energy for SmallholderFarmers Project with support from the IKEA Foundation and other partners.
The communities most vulnerable to climate change, conflict, and economic stagnation cannot be served effectively through siloed thinking. Real progress will depend on whether agriculture, energy and nutrition actors can finally work together to design and scale integrated solutions. It is time for the sectors to finally work as one.