Tropentag 2023, September 20 - 22, Berlin, Germany "Competing pathways for equitable food systems transformation: trade-offs and synergies."

Innovative integration of renewable energy and agricultural production as contribution on sustainable local development

SRH Berlin University of Applied Science, Berlin School of Technology, Germany

Abstract

Humanity is struggling to face problems associated with development related to climate change, finite energy resources, food scarcity, waste production and management, as well as water availability and contamination. Simultaneously, population growth, rising living standards and technological-industrial development have an undeniable effect on increasing food and energy consumption, with an impact on the over-exploitation of essential natural resources such as water and soil. At the same time, rural communities in most developing countries have limited access to products and services that are commonly used in cities, such as energy, health, and cultural life, among others, which unbalances their development and sustainability.
In the international discourse and the increase in awareness of these problems, the implementation of the SDGs and concepts such as the green economy, the water energy food nexus, the circular economy, the development of renewable energies are promoted. However, in a society that forecasts more than 9 billion inhabitants by 2050 and demands increased by 60% for food, 55% for water and 80% for energy, close to one billion people still suffer from hunger, 78% of the world population must be satisfied with only 30% of the energy produced globally, 2.12 billion tons of waste are produced annually and 1.2 billion people face physical water scarcity, while food still has to be transported nearly 4000 km as average from producer to consumer; even so renewable energy generation and food production must compete for the land resource.
The present work will present theoretical-practical reflections of the innovative integration and management of renewable energies with agro-productive systems, to achieve synergies that allow increasing food and energy production with sustainable strategies, contributing to local development and reducing gaps in living standards in rural regions of developing countries. Possible configurations to consider in pilot examples, unifying knowledge in training and profession of engineers are presented, promoting sustainable rural communities to impulse SDGs, growing in a green economy, managing the water-energy-food-nexus, and in a circular economy, as well as decentralising food production with an economic impact on the inhabitants of rural communities, and on regional-national economies.

Keywords: Circular economy, green economy, integration renewable energy and food production, rural local development, SDGs, water-energy-food-nexus

Contact Address: Osvaldo Romero Romero, SRH Berlin University of Applied Science, Berlin School of Technology, Ernst Reuter Platz 10, 10587 Berlin, Germany, e-mail: osvaldo.romerosrh.de