Africa-Press – Tanzania. FIELD surveys conducted across four regions as part of the Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) initiative have identified a potential to unlock $1.6 million (approximately 3.8 billion Tanzanian shillings).
This funding is expected to benefit over 700 smallholder enterprises and cooperatives in the targeted regions, driving sustainable development and economic growth.
This was revealed on Thursday in Dar es Salaam by the Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Energy Services Organisation (TaTEDO-SESO), Estomih Sawe, during a high-level national forum which brought together government officials, financial institutions, development partners, private sector players, farmers, research institutions and civil society representatives.
The forum organised by TaTEDO-SESO in collaboration with the World Resources Institute – Africa (WRI-Africa) is aimed at accelerating blended finance mechanisms to unlock investments in PURE across Tanzania’s agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors.
Mr Sawe said despite remarkable national progress on electrification millions of rural and peri urban households still cannot use energy productively at the same time agriculture, livestock and fisheries continue to suffer from low productivity, post-harvest losses and limited value addition.
Sawe said that through the PURE project, technological research conducted showed strong potential for transforming rural production systems by boosting productivity, strengthening agricultural value chains and improving livelihoods through the use of clean renewable energy.
Productive use of Renewable energy is not just about energy access, it is about using energy or using clean energy to power irrigation, water pumping, transportation, milling cooling drying, other productive uses including fish preservation and agro processing activities that actually increase productivity resilience and incomes.
“PURE is not only about expanding energy access, it is about powering income generating activities such as irrigation, agro-processing, cooling, drying and fisheries operations. With right financing models PURE can stimulate rural industrialisation, support food security and create thousands of decent jobs for women and youths,” Mr Sawe said.
Speaking about the research findings, PURE Project Coordinator, Jensen Shuma, said the study was conducted along high -impact value chains including bananas, tomatoes, cassava, dairy, mango, poultry, livestock and fisheries.
Shuma noted that the purpose of the research was to identify how renewable energy can increase production at lower cost in the sectors and deliver benefits to farmers and the country.
“We conducted the study in four regions and collected information that enabled us to prepare documents to guide stakeholders in making informed investment decisions in these sectors,” Shuma said. He added that the findings clearly show that many agricultural and processing activities can be powered by clean energy, especially solar energy, which is affordable and environmentally friendly compared to fuel-powered generators.
Highlighting the benefits of clean energy in production, Shuma noted that it can reduce production costs, increase producers’ profits and contribute to environmental protection.
The research also identified the most suitable type of energy for each activity, existing challenges and ways to address them.
“We are here to connect financial stakeholders to support production using clean and affordable energy sources,” Shuma added.
A representative from WRI-Africa, Anderson Ngowa, said that to unlock the full potential of PURE, Tanzania requires targeted financing instruments, supportive regulatory frameworks and strong collaboration between the public sector, financiers, technology providers and farmers.
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