Increasing the agricultural sector’s access to clean energy technologies will lead to increased incomes for farmers, decreased dependency of the agriculture sector on fossil fuels, and greater food security globally.

Understand the clean energy–agriculture opportunity

About Powering Agriculture

Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development was a partnership of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Government of Germany (BMZ), Duke Energy Corporation, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). It was launched in 2012 to address needs at the intersection of the energy and agriculture sectors of the developing world. December 2019 marked the conclusion of its formal phase.

Through Powering Agriculture, the Founding Partners sought to support the development and deployment of clean energy innovations that stimulate low-carbon economic growth in the agriculture sectors of developing countries to help end extreme poverty and extreme hunger.

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Our Approach

Powering Agriculture utilized a cross sectoral nexus approach to concurrently focus on the energy and agricultural sectors through the following components:

• Technology and business model innovation grants and research-based pilots
• Increasing access to financing through Powering Agriculture Investment Alliance
• Mainstreaming the importance of energy in agriculture
• Knowledge management and sharing of analyses, best practices, and lessons learned in the nexus

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Our Innovators

Powering Agriculture issued global calls for innovation in 2012 and 2014 to source clean energy solutions within agricultural value chain that:

• Enhanced agricultural yields/productivity;
• Decreased post-harvest loss;
• Improved farmer and agribusiness income generating opportunities and revenues; or
• Increased energy efficiency and associated savings within farms and agribusinesses, while stimulating low-carbon economic growth within the agriculture sectors of developing countries.

Powering Agriculture provided innovation grants to 24 organizations to design, pilot, and deploy clean energy solutions. The organizations implemented activities in 22 countries over the course of the Grand Challenge.

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The Powering Agriculture Investment Alliance

The Investment Alliance will catalyze a minimum of $25 million in private sector finance for ventures with the potential to achieve transformational development impact in the clean energy-agriculture nexus.

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Our Results

Powering Agriculture’s achievements changed lives in smallholder farming communities across four continents. They were a product of the work of many entities, including its innovators, partners, and the Investment Alliance.

See our results