This session will explore the critical nexus between water, energy, agriculture, and nutrition, demonstrating how integrated approaches can unlock productivity, resilience, and sustainability across food systems. Drawing on insights from the Beyond Silos white paper, it will examine how off-grid solar solutions and cross-sector collaboration can strengthen agricultural value chains.

The session will highlight best practices from the field, including case studies from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Benin, showing how integrated energy-agriculture programming supports improved irrigation, production, cold storage, and agro-processing. These examples will illustrate what effective nexus programming looks like in practice, as well as the enabling conditions required for scale.

Designed to be highly participatory, the session will open with a scene-setting overview before moving into a facilitated debate with live audience voting. Participants will be encouraged to challenge siloed approaches, test assumptions, and reflect on the practical implications for programme design. The discussion will address both successes and challenges, including common barriers such as fragmented planning, limited coordination, and financing gaps.

The session’s core objective is to support donors and funders in embedding nexus thinking into the design, implementation, and evaluation of agricultural and energy initiatives.