Kenyan smallholder farmers are reducing post-harvest losses and accessing global export markets through a pay-per-use solar cold storage mod
While the focus is often on transportation and energy generation, about one third to one fourth of global carbon emissions come from our food systems. This means that making these systems more efficient, such as by reducing wasting energy on food that never makes it to market, is a big deal--as well as an important economic factors for farmers.
In regions where grid electricity is unreliable or inaccessibly expensive, the lack of access to reliable refrigeration greatly increases the risk that harvested food will spoil before it can reach market. Farmers also have less agency in when and where to sell their food when they have to rush to sell it before it spoils.
With the plummeting cost of solar, innovative companies are now providing farmers in these regions with rentable solar-powered cold rooms that are not dependent on grid electricity. One company in Nigeria estimates that their services have reduced food spoilage from 50% to around 2% while helping farmers earn more for their produce.
