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Cost of solar impeding agricultural transformation
Government plans to enhance uptake of solar as a way of transforming agriculture, especially in rural areas. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- The Ministry of Agriculture says the current cost of solar will make it difficult to transform agriculture by 2040
The Ministry of Agriculture assistant commissioner in charge of irrigation and drainage has said it will be difficult for Uganda to transform its agriculture through solar energy due to cost-related challenges.
Speaking on the sidelines of the first solar exhibition organised by Uganda Solar Energy Association, Mr Dominic Mucunguzi, the Ministry of Agriculture assistant commissioner for irrigation and drainage, said the cost of solar energy remains high, which will make it difficult to achieve a transformed agricultural sector by 2040.
“With [current] high cost, projections that solar energy can transform the agriculture sector right from production, manufacturing, and cooling by 2040 cannot be achieved,” he said without giving more details.
Government plans to enhance uptake of solar as a way of transforming agriculture, especially in rural areas.
Last year, government, through Nexus Green, said it was on track to complete the construction of 400 solar-powered water irrigation sites in northern and eastern Uganda, through a design, supply, and instal $90m (Shs331b) project to enhance agricultural prosperity and improve livelihoods of 25,000 Ugandans in water-stressed districts.
The 2019/20 Uganda National Household Survey indicates that at least 6.2 million households out of the national total of 8.9 million live in rural areas.
However, of these 3.1 million have access to electricity, with the biggest number of 2.8 million using solar as their source of energy.
Solar remains expensive due to the initial investment required, which some sector players blame on an unharmonised tax regime.
Speaking to exhibitors at the first solar exhibition, Mr Roy Baguma, the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalization Company managing director, said Uganda Revenue Authority must harmonise the tax regime on solar products, indicating that different taxes are levied on similar products, while other products are exempted.
“URA charges [value added tax] for solar lanterns with detached panels, yet it does not charge for lanterns with embedded panels,” he said, adding that government exempts taxes on solar pumps used for irrigation, but levies taxes on clean cooking technologies such as electric pressure cookers.
