MOOC: Powering Agriculture – Sustainable Energy for Food

How can we produce more food with less energy, make energy use more efficient, and upscale clean energy technologies in food value chains? Almost 1,400 people participated in the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) “Powering Agriculture – Sustainable Energy for Food” to discuss and find answers to those questions. Over eight weeks in spring 2016 they were introduced to the Energy-Agriculture Nexus and learned about the sustainable use of energy throughout all stages of agricultural value chains.

The MOOC was offered by the global initiative ‘’ and the TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences. Further contributing organizations were the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Tetra Tech, the World Bank, as well as the Center for Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn.

Find the MOOC platform with all course material here.

About the Course

The MOOC introduced participants to challenges of and solutions for sustainable energy use in agri­cultural value chains. The first half of the curriculum focused on clean energy technologies while the second part highlighted economic and political aspects of projects at the interface of energy and agriculture.

Background

Around one third of the energy used worldwide goes into the production and processing of food from field to table. Given the current energy system mix, the agrifood industry sector is however heavily dependent on fossil fuel inputs for production, transport, processing and distribution, and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. With a continuously growing world population the need for food and for energy to produce is increasing. At the same time millions of farmers and processors in developing countries and emerging economies lack access to clean energy technologies for irrigation, drying, coolingHow can these needs be met sustainably?We have to produce more food with less energy, make energy use more efficient, and introduce and upscale more clean energy technologies.

The MOOC attented these challenges and dealt with the questions: "How can we support the use of clean energy in developing countries and emerging economies within the agriculture and food sector? How can we contribute to reducing the large quantities of agricultural products going to waste every day, and thereby contributing to food security, both globally and locally?"

Curriculum

Introduction	Week 1	Introduction to the Energy-Agriculture Nexus
Renewable Energy Technologies and Energy Efficiency in Agricultural Value Chains	Week 2	Renewable Energy Resources and Technology Overview
	Week 3	Bioenergy for Agricultural Value Chains
	Week 4	Energy efficiency in Agriculture
Economics of the Energy-Agriculture Nexus	Week 5	Energy and Agriculture on the Macro Level
	Week 6	Energy and Agriculture on the Micro Level
	Week 7	Business Models for Energy and Agriculture Projects
Summary	Week 8	Summary

To receive the course certificate, issued by the PAEGC initiative and TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences, participants had to continuously contribute to the course by earning certain “badges” for weekly quizzes, community activities, assignments and a final quiz. The most work intensive but also most interactive part was the assignments: the participants had to work in teams to elaborate a case study of a solar-powered irrigation system for a location of their choice. The second assignment asked them to develop a business model for a clean energy solution for agricultural use. The expert tutors were impressed by the submissions’ quality and range of approaches. Additional peer review further catalyzed discussions on different clean energy solutions and their applicability in different contexts. This didactical method, in addition to videos, offline reading materials and quizzes, created an active online community.

Course Material

The course material will stay accesible to the public on the platform. Each week contained a video, a reader and additional material.

Introduction to the Energy-Agriculture Nexus

The introduction to the Energy-Agriculture Nexus intended to provide a preface to the given planetary boundaries (especially limited energy and water resources), the Energy-Agriculture Nexus as well as the course platform and community. In addition, an expert interview of Katie Kennedy Freeman provides insights into the World Bank's approaches to support clean energy solutions for agricultural value chains.

Video lectures:

• Introduction to the Energy-Agriculture Nexus by the Partners of "Powering Agriculture - An Energy Grand Challenge for Development"
  
• Introduction to the MOOC by Prof. Ramchandra Bhandari, TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences
  
• Expert Interview with Katie Kennedy Freeman, Global Food and Agriculture Global Practice (GFADR), World Bank
  

Reader

Additional material

Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency in Agricultural Value Chains

Week 2: Renewable Energy Resources and Technology Overview
The Renewable Energy Resources and Technology Overview provided a guide to understand the basics for working with renewable energy technologies, such as solar energy and its respective applications in agricultural value chains.

Video lecture by Prof. Ramchandra Bhandari, TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences

Reader

Additional material

Week 3: Bioenergy Overview

The bioenergy overview provided a technical overview on Bioenergy Resources and Technologies, biogas fundamentals, and the many uses of biogas in agricultural value chains. This unit introduced the process by which methane is generated, the technologies that can be used to generate methane and factors to consider when choosing a technology, and the different ways biogas can be used as an energy source.

Video lecture by Miguel Franco, Powering Agriculture Task Support Order (PASTO) & Director at Tetra Tech - Bionenergy and Environment

Reader

Additional material

Week 4: Energy Efficiency in the Energy-Agriculture Nexus

• Energy Efficiency in the Energy-Agriculture Nexus
  
• Energy Audits
  
• Life-cycle Assessment
  
• Case Studies
  

Find the video of week 4 via the following link: 

• Energy Efficiency in the Energy-Agriculture Nexus by Prof. Ramchandra Bhandari, TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences
  

Further material:

• Article on energy efficiency here
  
• Article on energy auditing here
  
• Reader
  
• Additional material
  

Economics of the Energy-Agriculture Nexus

Week 5: Policies and Regulations for the Energy-Agriculture Nexus

• Macro-level: Policies and Regulations for the Energy-Agriculture Nexus
  
• Case Studies
  

Find thevideo of week 5 via the following link: 

• Policies and Regulations for the Energy-Agriculture Nexus by Alisher Mirzabaev, Senior Researcher at the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn
  

Further material:

• Article on policies and regulations for the energy-agriculture nexus here
  
• Article on a comparison of various policy tools for promoting renewable energies here
  
• Reader
  
• Additional material
  

Week 6: Energy and Agriculture on the Micro Level

• Micro-level: Investment Planning
  
• Feasibility Analysis
• Cost-benefit Analysis
  
• Case Studies
  

Find the video of week 6 via the following link: 

• Micro Economics of the Energy Agriculture Nexus by Stefania Bracco, expert in Energy-Smart Agri-Food Chains working for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
  

Further material:

• Article on techno-economic analysis in agricultural value chains here
  
• Article on agri-food enterprises in the nexus here
  
• Reader
  
• Additional material
  

Week 7: Business Models for Projects in the Energy-Agriculture Nexus

• Business Models for the Energy-Agriculture Nexus
  
• Grid-connected Projects
  
• Off-grid Projects
• Value Chain Integrated Generation and Supply
  

Find the video of week 7 via the following link: 

• Business Models for the Energy-Agriculture Nexus by Prof. Ramchandra Bhandari, TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences
  

Further material:

• Article on business models for the energy-agriculture nexus here
  
• Case Study by FAO: "Techno-economic Analysis of Solar Pumps for sustainable Irrigation in Bangladesh" 
  
• Reader, including 3 real life examples: a gasification power plant fueled with rice husks in Vietnam; a solar dryer for drying fruits; and biogas plant for a farm
  
• Additional material
  

Summary

Find thevideo of week 8 via the following link: 

• Summary of the MOOC by Prof. Ramchandra Bhandari, TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences
  

Further material:

• Compiled course reader of the MOOC
  
• Additional material
  

About the Organiser

Powering Agriculture – An Energy Grand Challenge (PAEGC) seeks to identify and support new and sustainable approaches to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy solutions for increasing agriculture productivity and/or value in developing countries. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Duke Energy, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) have combined resources to fund Powering Agriculture. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) supports the initiative on behalf of BMZ.

TH Köln – University of Applied Sciencessees itself as University of Technology, Arts, and Sciences. With its disciplinary and cultural diversity and openness, TH Köln’s activities are aimed on cultural and technological breakthroughs of high societal relevance; TH Köln contributes substantially to resolving social challenges.

Further Information

• MOOC Platform
  
• PAEGC Study: "Opportunities for Agri-Food Chains to become Energy-Smart"
  
• Overview of PAEGC: Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development
  
• Reader of the MOOC "Powering Agriculture - Sustainable Energy for Food"
  
• GIZ Publication: Manual and Tools for Promoting Solar Powered Irrigation Systems