Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the least developed and most vulnerable region to climate change globally, with electricity access and irrigation rates at 45% and 5%, respectively. The region's high reliance on rain-fed farming results in significant yield gaps, increasing dependence on food imports and aid. Projected declines in rainfed agricultural productivity due to climate-induced rainfall variability, coupled with a rapid population growth rate of 2.8% per year, will likely exacerbate food insufficiency. SSA is largely rural, with an urbanization rate of 42%. Much of its population lives in sparsely populated settlements characterized by low electricity demand, which poses a significant barrier to electrification. Integrating irrigation energy demand into electrification planning can mitigate this low-electricity demand barrier, making rural electrification economically viable from a system perspective. Additionally, providing low-cost electricity for irrigation has potential to enhance agricultural productivity and the economic well-being of farmers. This dissertation addresses the challenge of sustainable energy access and food production in SSA through three distinct yet interrelated studies. The first study develops an integrated modeling framework—coupling a crop model, a hydrologic model, and a techno-economic model—to assess solar irrigation potential in the current rainfed croplands of SSA based on commonly grown food crops. The second study assesses and quantifies irrigation energy requirements for mid-century (2045-2055) and end-century (2085-2095) periods, using 2010-2020 as the baseline, under varying climate and socioeconomic scenarios. This study relies on future irrigation water withdrawal projections from the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM). The third study develops an integrated modeling framework, coupling a microgrid model and a crop model to assess and quantify the symbiotic benefits of co-planning minigrid-driven rural electrification and smallholder irrigation farming in SSA.

Publication Date

6-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Sustainability (Ph.D.)

Department, Program, or Center

Sustainability, Department of

College

Golisano Institute for Sustainability

Advisor

Nathan Williams

Advisor/Committee Member

Amitrajeet A. Batabyal

Advisor/Committee Member

Paulina Jaramillo

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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