Browsing by Author "Shirley, Rebekah"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Publication
    Publication
    Creating livelihoods through clean energy and agriculture
    (The International Journal Of Rural development, 2020-06-26) Shirley, Rebekah
    Just 35 per cent of the African population have access to electricity, with rural access rates at less than one-third of urban communities. Not only could decentralised renewable energy technologies help in meeting energy demand in rural areas in a climate-friendly manner, and promoting innovations in the agri-food sector, they are also an important potential driver of local job creation and the formalisation of labour – provided that the skills gaps hindering the sector’s growth can be closed.
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    Publication
    Energy for food, livelihoods, and resilience: An integrated development agenda for Africa
    (Elsevier, 2021-04-23) Shirley, Rebekah
    This article explores the real-time interactions between agriculture, energy, economy, trade, climate resilience, and livelihoods across sub-Saharan Africa and the implications for 2050. It explains the opportunities for an intersectional approach to interventions at the food-energy nexus and provides recommendations for near-term actions urgently needed to safeguard Africa’s future.
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    Publication
    Identifying high-priority impact areas for electricity service to farmlands in Uganda through geospatial mapping
    (Elsevier, 2021-09-01) Shirley, Rebekah; Liu, Yifei; Kakande, Josephine; Kagarura, Mark
    This article explores the food-energy nexus in sub–Saharan Africa by studying opportunities for improved agricultural productivity through electricity access. The study fills an acknowledged data gap by using geospatial analysis to identify priority areas for serving on- and near-farm electricity demand, using maize and coffee farming in Uganda as a case study. We use publicly available data on electrification infrastructure and crop statistics along with a select portfolio of variables, to identify areas where least-cost electricity delivery models intersect with agricultural needs, thereby highlighting target areas for further investigation. These findings are validated by community surveys in a key farming district. The analysis finds significant areas of underserved staple and cash crop farmlands can be served through grid and mini-grid electricity access within the next ten years. Such framing provides a useful lens for informing near-term interventions, and the paper concludes with practical recommendations.