23rd November 2023, Kigali, Rwanda – The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), in collaboration with Rwanda Agriculture and Animal resources Board (RAB) are implementing three phases project aiming at promoting efficient use of agricultural land for farmers by increasing agricultural productivity, water availability, access to affordable and clean energy for productive uses such as solar irrigation and post-harvesting facilities by co-locating farming with solar photovoltaic (PV) thereby boosting farmers’ incomes and reducing poverty in a system called Agrivoltaics. Agriculture combined with raised photovoltaic (PV) solar panels simultaneously tackle food, energy, and water security challenges on the same area of land, while also improving farmer livelihoods. Ultimately, the co-location synergies will improve agricultural productivity and reduce post-harvest losses, thereby boosting farmers’ incomes and strengthening their climate resilience.
Mr. Martin, Program Co-ordinator for Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) said that “the Government of Rwanda seeks to modernize and increase productivity of agriculture, promote new models of irrigation scheme management, and to build post-harvest storage and handling facilities near the farms to reduce emissions resulting from postharvest losses but also reducing food waste. Under the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Rwanda is prioritizing developing adaptation actions such as climate-resilient post-harvest facilities and technologies, expanding irrigation, and improving water management, developing sustainable land use management practices, and mitigation actions such as use of solar water pumping systems for irrigation within agriculture production.”
Agriculture combined with raised photovoltaic (PV) solar panels simultaneously tackle food, energy, and water security challenges on the same area of land, while also improving farmer livelihoods. Ultimately, the co-location synergies will improve agricultural productivity and reduce post-harvest losses, thereby boosting farmers’ incomes and strengthening their climate resilience. Though there is ample evidence of the multiple benefits of Agrivoltaic globally, country-specific data is critically needed to effectively engage donors and secure funds for public and private investment in demonstration and scale-up projects. ” He encouraged each project stakeholder to carefully analyze the study and findings to be presented today as each of the participants play a critical role in the success of this new project.
The Agrivoltaic program in Rwanda is envisaged to be developed in the following phases:
Phase 1: To conduct a pre-feasibility study and concept note submission.
Phase 2: Pilot demonstration project for showcasing benefits and raising awareness, nation-wide strategy/roadmap developed to scale-up Agrivoltaic systems, related policy and regulatory frameworks developed, capacities enhanced, and concept note submitted for scaling and replicating the idea in Rwanda.
Phase 3: Implementation of the scale-up phase and multi-country project.
Brigitte Nyirambangutse, Sen Program Officer at GGGI Rwanda said that the objective of the Pre-validation is to allow the contractor Envelope to give a full Presentation of the results/findings from the Preliminary studies they have conducted ; gather feedback from all project stakeholders and document recommendations. This study embarked on an exploratory investigation into the effects of Agrivoltaic Systems (APVs) on agricultural outputs, particularly focusing on crop yield and irrigation demands. Given the nascent stage of this research and the limited agricultural data available from the target site, the simulations rely on available data complemented by a set of reasoned assumptions.”
Central to this study is the understanding that APVs substantially affect the microclimate experienced by the crops beneath them, primarily influencing light exposure and temperature conditions. The Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) and temperature, especially under
different shading ratios introduced by APVs, emerge as critical variables influencing crop yield and irrigation requirements. To quantify these effects, we draw upon parameters and shading ratios identified in a seminal study published in the “Computers and Electronics in Agriculture” journal, an SCI-indexed publication. The selected shading ratios reflect a balance between power generation efficiency and agricultural productivity, a key consideration in APV system design. Prior agrivoltaic research consistently highlights that APV structures notably alter the microclimate, particularly causing a reduction in maximum temperatures by 1 to 3℃ and PAR by 14 to 30%.
Moving forward GGGI and the consulting firm Envelopes will incorporate all the recommendations put forward by each of the project stakeholders that include , submitting two scenarios in the report to help validate findings and which approach to be taken forward by government of Rwanda; cost implication in terms of operation and maintenance; a comparison of on grid and off grid so that Envelope can submit tangible results showing the benefits of agrivoltaics project; a comparison of individual farmers and the befits they will gain from this project and also the income they will incur; the consulting firm and GGGI to engage electric engineers and produce tangible evidence based results and data to be shared with government of Rwanda. Project stakeholders from Ministery of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment, RAB, REMA, GIZ< ENABEL, RSB, RWB, IFAD, Lux Dev, PSF each explained what type of information is required for decisions to be made and put forward and they gave GGGI and Envelopes team critical information to incorporate in the final report.