The presentation of Sarah Best, IIED's senior researcher (energy and extractives) at IIED's seminar “Growing Power: Exploring Energy Needs in Smallholder Agriculture” on 30 April 2014. Drawing on Best’s “Growing Power” discussion paper (http://pubs.iied.org/16562IIED.html), the presentation considers the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of addressing the huge gap in access to modern energy and equipment smallholder-based agri-food chains. It examines the diversity of energy needs, the approaches of the energy and agri-food sectors, and highlights key priorities, lessons-learned and knowledge gaps. More information: http://www.iied.org/energy

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014Author name
Date
Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Sarah Best, Senior Researcher (Energy and
Extractive Industries), Sustainable Markets Group.
IIED, London, 30th April 2014
Growing Power:
Exploring Energy Needs in
Smallholder Agriculture

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Presentation Outline
1. What is the issue and why does it matter?
2. What are the energy needs in smallholder-based food systems?
3. How have the energy and agri-food sectors approached energy
needs in smallholder agriculture and related rural enterprises -
differences, commonalities, progress and lessons-learned?
4. Ways forward and research gaps
The content for this presentation is drawn from the IIED ‘Growing Power’
Discussion Paper (2014) available at http://pubs.iied.org/16562IIED.html

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
What’s the issue? (a) Food for all implies more
modern energy and equipment in food system
Clarke, 2008. http://www.raeng.org.uk/events/pdf/252/lawrence_clarke.pdf

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
(b) But is the current agriculture model
affordable? E.g. Increased fossil fuels =
higher farm-input & food prices

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014(c) Or sustainable? Fossil fuels contribute to
food sector emissions (though < other GHG)
FAO, 2011. ‘Energy Smart Food for
People and Climate’, Issue Paper

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014(c) Or sustainable? Fossil fuels contribute to
food sector emissions (though < other GHG)
FAO, 2011. ‘Energy Smart Food for People
and Climate’, Issue Paper

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Implication?
“We need to re-think the role of energy
in food systems”, FAO, 2012

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
2. What are the energy needs in smallholder-
based systems? A value chain approach (a)

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
A wider, rural development approach to
mapping needs (b)
For full version of table, see Best, S. (2014): Growing Power: Addressing Energy Needs in Smallholder Agriculture

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Key points on energy needs
• Well-recognised energy access gaps in land preparation,
irrigation, processing and storage
• But energy needs are more wide-ranging and vary across
different farming systems & contexts - so solutions vary too
e.g. grains vs fresh fruits to improve storage and reduce losses
• Value chain analysis can pinpoint bottlenecks and opportunities
• A rural development lens provides a wider understanding of
priorities – especially relevant for electrification projects
• A gender focus is vital – if women had the same access to
productive resources as men they could increase yields on their
land by 20-30% (FAO, 2011)
• “Modern energy solutions” are not always the answer to a
deficit e.g. due to costs, preference for draught animals

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
3. How have energy and agri-food
sectors addressed energy needs?
Energy
• Typically supply-led,
though becoming more
demand-driven
• Focus on ‘modern
energy’, over
human/animal power
• Intervention types:
• Large-scale rural
electrification
• Standalone off-grid (e.g.
solar irrigation)

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
3. How have energy and agri-food
sectors addressed the issue?
Energy
• Traditionally very supply-led,
though becoming more
demand-driven
• Focus on ‘modern energy’, over
human/animal power
• Intervention types:
• Large-scale rural
electrification (e.g.
centralised grid, mini-grid)
• Standalone, off-grid power
and equipment (e.g. solar
irrigation)
Agri-food
• Focus on whole farm system, with
farm as energy producer and user
• Concern for food security,
production, environment – energy
one input among many
• Meets energy gaps by increasing
supply or reducing demand
• Interest in all power types, and
intervention types include:
• Ag mechanisation (e.g. tractors,
hand-powered tools)
• Sustainable agriculture (e.g. no-
till, efficient resource use)

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Many energy & equipment solutions
piloted – few reach scale
Treadle Pumps
2-wheel tractor
Rural electricity co-ops
Multi-functional platform

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Barriers to address in designing a sustainable
delivery model for productive uses of energy
• Weak demand, customers’ poverty, geography
• Top-down, supply focus of rural electrification - interest stops
pre-meter and lack of focus on productive uses
• Institutions - lack complementary or joined policies across
sectors (e.g. credit, extension services), role of power and politics
(e.g. electricity subsidies and irrigation in India)
• Finance – users need larger-scale finance to purchase equipment
• Capacity gaps at all levels (farmers, SMEs, government) e.g.
users’ business skills, low awareness of technologies
• Availability of input products, equipment and services (fuel
supplies, spare parts, repair services)
• Lack of market access for sale of final products (e.g. bad roads)

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Agri-food sector: some issues & insights
• Ag mechanisation  big overlap and common lessons with energy
sector, though differences too e.g. role of private sector, land titling
• Sustainability-led approaches like ‘energy-smart’ and ‘climate smart’
agriculture have different solutions to expanding access e.g. -
Conservation Agriculture, Integrated Food-Energy Systems (IFES)
• Strong champions for raft of sustainable agricultural practices – but
also challenges to scale-up e.g. for ‘IFES’
- Complexity, workload
- Competition and trade-offs
- Access to technical support, time horizons
• Bioenergy for energy access on farms? Successful examples of
self-provisioning for household energy (e.g. China) and on larger-scale
farms and processors – but few examples of smallholders
producing and using bioenergy for their own productive needs

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Conclusions
• We’re not starting from scratch – there is good experience of technical
options, what has gone wrong before and possible success factors
• No ‘master plan’ that works for all crops and contexts, but common
ingredients for success proposed by energy and agri-food sectors e.g.
- Involve people more, raise awareness and demand – role of farmers co-ops?
- Map “productive use” opportunities and energy bottlenecks in value chains
- Promote complementary support packages (credit, extension, skills)
- Build capacity and provide business development services
- Facilitate access to efficient and high quality end-use equipment
• Key priority to promote integration and joined-up approaches across
sectors - energy, food, water, waste etc – and make complex ‘systems
thinking’ more practicable.

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Possible quandaries and research gaps
1. Interrogating the hypothesis : Is “energy access” the right lens here? Are
smallholder-based value chains the right priority?
2. How do we encourage joined-up approaches across sectors and make
complex “systems thinking” (e.g. the ‘nexus’) more practical?
3. What are relative roles of the public and private sector? How can the risks
for commercial investors be addressed and finance gaps overcome?
4. Power and politics: where are the political levers and blockers to change?
5. Learning from the past and the hidden: Are we reinventing the wheel with
1970’s ‘integrated rural development’? Are there promising examples of
expanding access for productive uses ‘under the radar’ e.g. mini-grids?
6. Do we need to build energy literacy among farmer organisations and other
actors? How?
7. How do we promote more & better measurement of energy access impacts?

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Sarah Best
30th April 2014Author name
Date
Sarah Best
30th April 2014
Contacts: sarah.best@iied.org
Link to ‘Growing Power’ paper: http://pubs.iied.org/16562IIED.html
Rebecca Trevalyan Guest Blog: http://www.iied.org/calling-all-energy-agriculture-
experts-meet-talk-collaborate
IIED energy page: http://www.iied.org/energy
And for a historical perspective see “Power and the Land” - FDR Presidential Library
1940 - A documentary showing the struggle to bring electricity to rural areas of the
United States.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZchKXFpaDg
Thank you