West Africa faces food and energy insecurity due to population growth, climate change, and shrinking arable land. In Ghana and Nigeria, despite abundant resources, challenges persist. Half of Nigerians lack electricity (rural access at 25%), and Ghana struggles with costly renewable energy expansion.
Agriculture suffers from erratic rainfall and desertification, threatening crop yields. Agrivoltaics, integrating solar photovoltaic (PV) panels with farming on shared land, offers a solution for these crises. PV panels provide shade, regulate soil temperature, protect crops from extreme weather, and reduce water evaporation. Rainwater capture improves irrigation, benefiting crops like maize and legumes, sustaining or increasing production while generating clean energy for rural communities, and reducing dependence on firewood and fossil fuels.
In Nigeria, agrivoltaics lowers carbon emissions and health risks, while in Ghana, it supports the country’s renewable energy goals. However, expanding agrivoltaics faces challenges such as unclear land and energy laws that discourage investors, informal land tenure that puts communities at risk of displacement, and high PV installation costs, combined with limited financial incentives that slow progress.
Governments must act by classifying agrivoltaics as a distinct land-use model, formalizing tenure systems, and offering tax credits or low-interest loans to attract investment. Local PV manufacturing could lower costs and create jobs. In July 2025, Oregon State University (located in the state of Oregon, in the United States) researchers will collaborate with the University of Ghana and Nigeria’s African University of Science and Technology to launch pilot projects. These initiatives will test scalable models, blending technology and policy to boost food security and energy access.
Agrivoltaics does not solve all issues but provides a resilient framework for a green economy. By combining agricultural use with solar energy production, agrivoltaics promotes sustainable development and equitable resource access. Policymakers, investors, and communities must collaborate to expand this model. Ghana and Nigeria can pioneer this model, demonstrating how to harness sunlight for food and energy, securing a sustainable future.
