04 Jul 2017
Online Course Reader // Powering Agriculture - Sustainable Energy for Food
To strengthen and spread knowledge of sustainable energy solutions in agriculture, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) called “Powering Agriculture – Sustainable Energy for Food” has been held for eight weeks in spring 2016 by GIZ. Almost 1400 people around the world took part, two thirds of them living in countries of the global south. This reader summarises the
The MOOC material gives an introduction to the Energy-Agriculture Nexus and introduces approaches for sustainably providing energy throughout all stages of agricultural value chains – focusing on a developing and emerging country context.
The central concerns are: How can we support the use of clean energy in developing countries and emerging economies within the agriculture and food sector? How can we contribute to reducing the large quantities of agricultural products going to waste every day, and thereby contributing to food security, both globally and locally?
It looks at different clean energy technologies such as biogas- and solar-powered Technologies, and examines how those can promote access to clean energy. Potential applications of these technologies in agricultural value chains will be presented, also with the help of case studies from all over the globe.
You will learn that – while there is general consent on the importance of ‘clean energy’ and food security – approaches to tackle existing challenges vary enormously. Economic and political factors play a big role within the Energy-Agriculture Nexus, and may either push or restrain progress towards a more sustainable energy use.
Content
- The Energy-Agriculture Challenge
- Climate Change
- Energy Input in Agricultural Value-Chains
- Renewable Energy Resources and Technology
- Bioenergy
- Energy Efficiency in the Energy Agriculture Nexus
- Policies and Regulations for the Energy Agriculture Nexus
- Energy and Agriculture on a Micro Level
- Business Models for Projects in the Energy Agriculture Nexus
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GIZ websitePublished
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The MOOC was offered by and the reader assembled by the global initiative ‘Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development (PAEGC)’ and the TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences. Further contributing organizations were the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Tetra Tech, the World Bank, as well as the Center for Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn.About Powering Agriculture – An Energy Grand Challenge (PAEGC)
PAEGC seeks to identify and support new and sustainable approaches to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy solutions for increasing agriculture productivity and/or value in developing countries. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Duke Energy, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) have combined resources to fund Powering Agriculture. GIZ supports the initiative on behalf of BMZ. Website: www.poweringag.orgMore Information
- Contact: Powering.Agriculture@giz.de
- Knowledge portal of Powering Agriculture on energypedia.info