New Coalition Formed to Power Food Systems with Clean Energy

Dakar, Senegal, 1 September 2025

A newly established multi-stakeholder alliance — the Agri-Energy Coalition — is officially launching at the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) to address the critical challenges at the intersection of agriculture and energy in low to middle-income countries. 

The coalition brings together leading organisations from the agriculture, energy and development sectors — AGRA, Energy Saving Trust, GAIN, GEAPP, GIZ, GOGLA, IKEA Foundation, IRENA, IWMI,  Partners in Food Solutions, REEEP, SEforALL, SNV, and Wageningen University & Research. Together, they aim to deliver sustainable and scalable solutions to transform food systems through integrated energy access.

Worldwide, 685 million people live without electricity, the majority in rural areas where more than 70% of the world’s poor reside. In these regions, agriculture is the backbone of local economies, yet the sector faces significant hurdles, including post-harvest losses, inefficient value chains and high cost of food production. These challenges are largely driven by limited access to sustainable, reliable and affordable energy. 

The productive use of renewable energy (PURE) and decentralised renewable energy (DRE) solutions—such as solar irrigation and cold storage—offer a critical pathway to increasing yields, reducing food waste and improving livelihoods, but require coordinated efforts to increase uptake.

The Coalition’s activities include:

• Strengthen coordination among agri-energy actors, facilitate cross-sector partnerships, access to finance and knowledge exchange to bridge implementation gaps.
• Enhance policy advocacy through unified messaging and strategic presence at global and regional events.
• Promote integration across energy, agriculture, food systems, water and environmental sectors.
• Scale inclusive models that agri-food actors can adopt and document what works.

The initiative builds on momentum generated during the African Food Systems Forum in 2024, where like-minded institutions first convened to align strategies and co-develop knowledge products. Since then, the Coalition has developed joint positioning documents and fostered peer-to-peer learning across organisations and governments. 

New partners from the public, private and non-profit sectors that are committed to developing integrated solutions for the future of food and energy systems are encouraged to join the coalition and collaborate.

Media Contact

Eva Roig, GOGLA

e.roig@gogla.org

About the Agri-Energy Coalition

The Agri-Energy Coalition is a global alliance of partners working across energy, water, agriculture, nutrition, climate and finance, created to unlock the potential of agri-food systems with clean energy. By advancing practical strategies, influencing policy, guiding investments and scaling proven solutions, the Coalition supports resilient, inclusive and sustainable food systems powered by clean energy in low to middle-income countries.