Off-grid energy to transform small farms

Smart Villages Initiative, a Cambridge and Oxford-based three-year project evaluating ways to provide off-grid energy to develop rural areas, is poised to transform lives of smallholder farmers across India.

A three-day workshop co-organised by Smart Villages Initiative and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) called “Energy and Agriculture for Smart Villages in India” would highlight the synergy between energy and farming.

The  “smart village” concept speaks of using access to modern energy as a catalyst for sustainable development for the much neglected ‘bottom billion’ living in remote off-grid communities.

With the right framework conditions in place, advances in the use of renewable energy solutions such as solar, wind, hydro, biomass and hybrid combinations will improve access to energy and add value to agriculture.