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Today, we’re also talking about how solar-powered irrigation, milling, and cold storage solutions are helping Africa’s farmers cut losses, boost yields, and reach new markets.
These productive use of renewable energy (PURE) tools – mainly off-grid solar products – are critical to boosting efficiency and strengthening food security. As it stands, up to 30% of African harvests never make it to the table due to losses along the value chain, forcing African governments to import over $70 billion worth of food each year. Access to clean, reliable, affordable energy can bolster Africa’s food systems and eradicate the need for significant import. That’s why, at this year’s African Food Systems Forum (AFSF), we worked hard to put solar to work for agriculture – and are inviting government leaders, investors, companies, and organizations that care about climate-smart agriculture and inclusive growth to join the Agri-Energy Coalition.
The goal? To build food systems that are productive, resilient, and powered by renewable energy.
The AFSF is the biggest food systems fair across Africa, with over 6,500 high-level participants. This confluence of agricultural private sector companies, international development agencies, investors, and local farming associations offers access to a significant side of the market demand, and one that is key for PURE-focused companies to thrive and scale up their off-grid solar solutions.
When GOGLA represented the industry at the 2024 AFSF, we immediately recognized a critical gap: there were no energy ministries represented and just a single session addressed energy, despite it being the third-largest expense in agriculture. We saw an opportunity to plant the seeds for improved coordination and collaboration.
What started as a small and committed group of six partners in 2024 has grown to 15 partner organizations known as the Agri-Energy Coalition. The Coalition equips leaders with the tools, insights, and support to build resilient, integrated energy and food systems.
Fast forward to AFSF 2025: for the first time, energy was not just present, it was at the center of the conversation. Working together, the Coalition organized seven events, mobilized energy ministry representatives from seven countries, and brought in over 10 PURE companies (including GOGLA members Future Pump, Ennos, Agsol, Sun Culture, Ibriz, EEP Africa, Oikocredit, and Acumen). Energy access was no longer a missing piece; it was on the main stage, recognized as a driver of food system transformation.
To effectively influence policy, we need to demonstrate evidence. That’s why GOGLA, together with Acumen, Hystra, and SNV, released new research at AFSF, mapping how PURE companies can scale solutions when the right market linkages and financing are in place.
The findings confirm what we’ve long known:
The business case is compelling. Take SunCulture, which has delivered 60,000 solar irrigation pumps in Kenya, employing over 1,000 staff in the process. Or solar refrigeration and milling solutions that create jobs across rural SMEs and dramatically reduce post-harvest losses. These are not pilots anymore; they are proven livelihood multipliers.
In other words: solar energy doesn’t just keep the lights on. It grows businesses, creates jobs, and transforms food systems.
At AFSF, the Coalition put forward a clear call to action, urging governments, investors, and development partners to treat energy as a central lever in food systems.
This year, the message landed. Ministries of energy and agriculture that had never shared the same platform began discussing joint policies. Investors and development banks recognized that capital for energy-enabled agriculture needs to scale rapidly. And PURE companies gained unprecedented visibility to potential partners – momentum we expect to build further next year.
There’s more work to do. If we want climate-smart, energy-powered food systems to be a reality, we need to continue the coordinated push:
The African Food Systems Forum reminded me of something simple: energy access is not an end in itself, but a means to opportunity. A solar-powered pump is more than technology, it’s transformational. It’s higher yields, more income, and better nutrition for a family. A solar-powered cold room is more than farm equipment, it’s the foundation of reduced losses, higher profits, and jobs in rural communities. Solar does more than power devices, it empowers economic growth.
We also need to know where the agri-energy movement has come from in order to continue in the right direction. Historically, energy and agriculture actors worked in parallel rather than in partnership. Fragmented donor coordination, inconsistent public incentives, and limited support for agri-energy startups kept promising solutions trapped in silos, struggling to scale.
The good news is that the Agri-Energy Coalition provides a platform that brings governments, investors, funders, and companies together to align priorities and pool efforts. Strengthening Africa’s food systems requires this kind of collective action across energy, agriculture, finance, and nutrition. We’ll keep cultivating collaboration at this nexus and supporting the shift from siloed efforts to shared transformations – it’s the way to truly change the system.
Learn more and get involved with the Agri-Energy Coalition.
This article is part of the Putting Solar to Work series. The IKEA Foundation is supporting GOGLA to strengthen and develop the global industry around Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE).
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