No abstract

In view of Ethiopia’s significant renewable energy (RE) potential and the dynamic interactions among the components of the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) Nexus, we attempted to incorporate solar and small-scale hydropower into the optimal design of an environmentally friendly microgrid with the primary goal of ensuring the sustainability of irrigation water pumping, while taking advantage of existing infrastructure in various small administrative units (kebele). Any additional generated energy would be made available to the community for other needs, such as lighting and cooking, to support health and food security and improve the general quality of life. The novelty of the study stems from the utilization of in situ social data, retrieved during fieldwork interviews conducted in the kebele of interest, to ascertain the actual needs and habits of the local people. Based on these combined efforts, we were able to formulate a realistic energy demand plan for climatic conditions typical of Sub-Saharan Africa agricultural communities and analyze four different scenarios of the microgrid’s potential functionality and capital cost, given different tolerance levels of scheduled outages. We demonstrated that the RE-based microgrid would be socially and environmentally beneficial and its capital cost sensitive to the incorporation of individual or communal machines and appliances. Ultimately, the social impact investigation revealed the design would be welcomed by the local community, whose members already implement tailor-made solutions to support their agricultural activities. Finally, we argue that extended educational programs and unambiguous policies should be in place before any implementation to ensure the venture’s sustainability and functionality.

No abstract

Global technology transfers reshape agriculture with profound influences on everyday life. Substantial research has documented broader constraints that influence technology transfer among farmers, yet existing theories give us a narrow view into how wider dynamics manifest in everyday life. Using tractor farming in Ethiopia as a case study with ethnographic and historical data, we contribute an account of the everyday social and ecological interactions that shape agricultural technology transfer as well as the wider historical context in which these practices play out. Historically, we find an uneven transition that faltered repeatedly over 50 years. Ethnographically, we identify three types of interplays between actors and the local ecology that shaped the ways that faltering technology transfer actually plays out on the ground: (1) socio-ecological frictions; (2) communicative frictions; and (3) status-based frictions. This study contributes a humanistic account of how farmers and local technology providers experience technology transfers.

The collaboration with CIAT Ethiopia was instrumental in undertaking the first national consultation workshop. CIAT Ethiopia also facilitated the collection of household survey data.