Green Energy Transition for Enhanced Climate Resilient in MENA Agriculture

MENA is a water scarce, food deficient, energy intensive region and highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In addition, predominance of fossil fuel use for irrigation water pumping is the main cause of huge CO2 emissions from agricultural sector. Green energy has the potential to resolve conflicts between vital sectors such as water, agriculture, energy, and environment and bring them to collaborate for better livelihoods of the populations of the region. Efforts in field of green energy by ICARDA and partner institutions that are interested in MENA region will be presented in this session to disseminate best practices, innovations, and success stories for maximizing affordable green energy solutions in MENA such as solar-powered technologies in the desalination of brackish groundwater, ultra-low energy (ULE) drip irrigation reducing pumping power and enabling farmers to adopt solar-powered, agrivoltaic systems and traditional solar irrigation, and solar-powered IoT-based controllers for optimal water management. The session will involve presentations and panel discussion on advantages of and bottlenecks facing the scalability of green energy in agriculture in MENA and its link with water productivity and carbon footprint in agriculture.
  • 14:00 - 15:30 (LOUVRE 5)

Conveners

  • International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Speakers

  • Prof. Vinay Nangia / Morocco

  • Mr. Mohie Omar / Egypt

  • Dr. Samar Attaher / Egypt

  • Dr. Susan Amrose / United States

  • Prof. Rasha Elkholy / Egypt