Africa: How Reliable Energy Can Turn a Woman's Harvest Into a Thriving Business
[allAfrica] At dawn in Enugu State, a crate of tomatoes begins a race against the heat. For the woman who grew them, the harvest should mean income: school fees, wages and seed for the next planting season. But without reliable cold storage, she faces a difficult choice. Sell quickly, often at the price offered, or wait and risk watching her harvest spoil.
In Enugu State, Africa, a woman's tomato harvest is jeopardized by unreliable energy, as she faces the choice between selling quickly at low prices or facing spoilage. This highlights the economic cost of unreliable energy, which prevents women farmers from turning their harvests into profitable businesses. The International Year of the Woman Farmer has drawn attention to the critical role of women in Africa's agrifood systems, which employ 76% of working women in sub-Saharan Africa.
Closing gender gaps could increase the region's GDP by US$53 billion, yet inadequate infrastructure hinders this potential. Over 560 million people in the region lack access to electricity, and 37% of locally produced food is lost due to inefficient processing. Productive renewable energy, like solar-powered irrigation and refrigeration, can improve yields, extend growing seasons, and preserve produce, enabling women to expand into processing, storage, and distribution.
However, scaling these solutions requires investment models that cater to the unique challenges faced by women-led businesses, including financing gaps.
Brief written by urgent.news from AllAfrica's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
