Uganda turns to solar power to cut farmers’ losses

A dairy farmer can spend months feeding cattle, paying workers and transporting milk to a collection centre, only to lose part of the day’s earnings because the milk cannot be kept cold.

In rural Uganda, where electricity is either unreliable or unavailable, this is more than an inconvenience. It can mean the difference between making a profit and losing money.

The government and Heifer International are seeking to address this problem by expanding the use of solar-powered equipment in agriculture, particularly in communities where farmers depend on expensive diesel generators or have no access to electricity.

Through the Distributed Renewable Energy Ecosystem Model (DREEM) Hub Project, the partnership is promoting solar technologies for irrigation, milk chilling, food drying, storage and processing.

The aim is to help farmers preserve their produce, reduce operating costs and earn more from what they grow or produce.

Unlike conventional rural electrification programmes, which primarily seek to connect households to electricity, this initiative focuses on using energy to support income-generating activities.

Speaking at the 2026 annual DREEM Conference in Kampala, Dr Brian E. Isabirye, the commissioner for Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, said the government was prioritizing electricity solutions for agricultural communities beyond the reach of the national grid.

Uganda’s National Electrification Strategy provides for several approaches, including extending existing power lines, establishing smaller local electricity networks known as mini-grids, and installing standalone solar systems.

The latter two options are particularly important in remote agricultural communities where extending the national grid may take time or prove expensive.

“In areas where we don’t have grid access at the moment, we are prioritizing off-grid options because these are critical first in boosting production,” Isabirye said.

He singled out the cattle corridor, where reliable electricity is needed to preserve milk and other agricultural products.

According to Isabirye, Uganda loses up to 40 per cent of its agricultural produce after harvesting.

Post-harvest losses occur when food is damaged, spoils or becomes unsuitable for sale between harvesting and reaching consumers. Poor storage, inadequate drying facilities and a lack of refrigeration can contribute to these losses.

The figure illustrates the potential economic importance of preservation technologies, although the extent of losses varies across agricultural products and supply chains.

Solar-powered drying equipment can help farmers preserve crops, while refrigeration allows milk and other perishable products to remain usable for longer.

Isabirye said renewable energy could also help farmers move beyond selling raw produce.

Dairy farmers, for example, could use electricity to process milk into yoghurt and other products, while coffee farmers could adopt technologies that improve the quality and commercial value of their produce.

When milk spoils, everyone loses

William Matovu, Heifer International’s Uganda country director, said access to reliable energy was essential to improving food security, strengthening farmers’ ability to withstand climate-related pressures and supporting rural livelihoods.

He described a common problem in the dairy industry: farmers may produce milk and transport it to collection centres on time, but inadequate cooling facilities can undermine their efforts.

“If the aggregation centre or the milk collection centre cannot keep the milk cold, our efforts become a risk because it will get spoiled, and it will not get to an off-taker who can process it into premium products,” Matovu said.

An off-taker is a buyer, such as a dairy processor, that purchases agricultural produce from farmers or cooperatives.

When milk spoils before reaching that buyer, farmers and cooperatives lose potential income, while processors receive less raw material.

The problem is particularly costly for cooperatives that rely on diesel generators to power milk-chilling equipment.

Nyamwaka Edna, Heifer International Uganda’s renewable energy project manager, said some cooperatives operating outside the electricity grid spend approximately 40 per cent of their operational costs on energy.

These expenses include purchasing diesel, repairing generators and maintaining equipment.

Heifer’s monitoring data also indicates that some dairy cooperatives experience post-harvest losses of approximately 15 per cent, particularly when milk-chilling systems fail.

The DREEM Hub Project has so far installed three solar-powered milk-chilling solutions intended to reduce electricity costs, prevent spoilage and lower carbon emissions.

According to Edna, the installations are collectively contributing to a reduction of 53.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Why solar equipment remains expensive

Despite its potential, solar technology remains beyond the financial reach of many smallholder farmers and agricultural cooperatives.

James Baita, from the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre, which coordinates the DREEM Hub intervention across Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, said some agricultural solar technologies cost between $1,000 and $50,000.

Such prices make it difficult for individual farmers, cooperatives and small agricultural enterprises to acquire equipment without access to loans, subsidies or other financing arrangements.

Isabirye acknowledged that affordability remains one of the biggest barriers to adopting renewable energy technologies.

To address the problem, the government has established financing arrangements through the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company (UECCC).

The company supports renewable energy suppliers through affordable credit and results-based financing.

Results-based financing generally links financial support to agreed outcomes, such as the delivery or installation of qualifying energy technologies.

The arrangements are intended to encourage suppliers to serve remote communities while reducing the prices paid by consumers through subsidies.

Isabirye said the government had also introduced tax exemptions on solar photovoltaic panels, batteries and inverters to make the equipment more affordable.

Solar photovoltaic panels convert sunlight into electricity, batteries store electricity for later use, and inverters help make the electricity suitable for operating equipment.

The government is also encouraging local assembly and manufacturing to reduce reliance on imported technologies.

“Government is promoting industrialization where we start assembly of most of these products, alongside manufacturing. In the medium to long term, we are promoting local assembly and local manufacturing because it is only then that you can manage robust spikes in the dollar,” Isabirye said.

Lessons from the DREEM project

The DREEM Hub Project began in April 2024 and is scheduled to continue until June 2027.

It operates in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, with activities adapted to the agricultural needs of each country. In Uganda and Kenya, the project focuses on dairy production, while Tanzania’s intervention targets the fish value chain.

The initiative brings together government institutions, development partners, financial institutions, technology suppliers and agricultural organizations.

Beyond the three solar-powered milk-chilling installations, the project has established demonstration centres in Wakiso, Kampala and Luweero.

These facilities introduce farmers, students and other agricultural stakeholders to solar-powered irrigation, drying, storage and related technologies.

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