The Latest IPRA Research

This study (commissioned by Heifer International) explores the main potential productive uses of solar energy with a view towards guiding new efforts in promoting the use of solar electricity in the dairy value chain. It looks at the existing and new productive applications of solar electricity in the dairy sector, and areas along the dairy value chain where solar electricity can be used productively, including analysis of the captive renewable energy market for commercial enterprises in the dairy sector in Uganda based on primary and secondary data collected between May and July 2023.

The general consensus is that, dairy production has great potential to enhance household incomes and socio-economic transformation, towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG1) —to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere”, and SDG 2, to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. However, the ultimate benefit (improving food security and raising incomes for primary producers and other actors in the value chains) will depend on expanding access to modern energy, along the least-cost pathway, with other changes such as financing, business knowledge and market access, but also on the pace at which each technology is able to expand. More