At the seventh meeting of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) regional committee for Africa, Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor, unveiled an ambitious plan to roll out solar-powered irrigation pumps nationwide.
Addressing the media, Jinapor explained that this initiative aims to reduce the nation’s reliance on rain-fed farming and build greater resilience among farmers. “I have had very good fruitful discussions with the Director General [of the International Solar Alliance], and immediately, what we want to set forth is to work to deploy solar irrigation pumps across the country,” he said.
He highlighted the urgency for such a solution: “For some part of the country, for close to like six months during the dry season, because our farmers depend on rain-fed agriculture, they virtually have nothing to do.”
Jinapor pointed to India’s successful implementation of solar irrigation and noted Ghana’s intention to follow suit. “They have agreed that they will work and collaborate with us so that we can install these solar pumps. By installing these solar pumps, what will happen is that Ghanaians will be able to engage in productive all year round. We have signed some MoUs,” he added.
The meeting also featured a major announcement from the International Solar Alliance’s Director-General, Ashish Khanna, who revealed a $200 million funding facility to accelerate solar adoption across Africa. “We were proud and privileged to have 19 ministers from African countries and 39 countries represented. They heard and ratified the strategy of the International Solar Alliance of moving from ambition to action by having the support of an African solar facility, which is a catalytic finance of $200 million, with the first $75 million to be operationalized before the end of 2025,” Khanna said.
This facility is expected to leverage more than $800 million in investments for decentralized renewable energy in Africa, with the first fund set to launch in Nigeria. The Ministerial Session on the African Solar Facility (ASF) focused on mobilizing domestic finance and attracting private capital to scale up solar deployment. Ministers and partners emphasized the need for transparent procurement, secure payment systems, and targeted equity support to ensure the bankability and sustainability of solar projects.
The session concluded that the ASF will serve as a key instrument for scalable, sustainable, and bankable solar projects, advancing ISA’s goal of action-oriented, country-led implementation to transform Africa’s energy landscape.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
