Raising Fish Production in Uganda Through Renewable Energy

Uganda has the 7th highest inland fishery production in the world: the sector supports the livelihoods of over 5.3 million Ugandans and provides direct employment to over 1.2 million people. However, there is significant potential to increase the industry’s productivity. The sector faces 10-20% post-harvest losses on average, mostly because of inadequate access to cold storage at key points, while up to half of fishing income is spent on kerosene lamps for night fishing.

Men account for about 85% of labor in fisheries, and the role of women and youth in fisheries and aquaculture is often not given the attention it deserves. This has undermined the contribution of the sector to food and nutrition security, poverty eradication, equitable development, and sustainable resource utilization.

There is an opportunity for distributed renewable energy solutions to raise fish production by providing both cold storage and lighting. Ice-making enterprises improve access to cold storage and can reduce post-harvest losses and increase net income for fishers. These enterprises represent a clear opportunity for the deployment of either community mini-grids or standalone solar systems. A capital investment of $10.5 million would be required to deploy 8.9 MW of solar and storage to power these factories, and an additional $6.9 million would be required to construct 173 ice-making factories.