The renewable energy market and the impacts of the energy transition on food security

Renewable energy, food security

Energy plays a fundamental role in the economic and social development of humanity. Energy demand is largely covered by fossil fuels which are recognized as being the main sources of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. This phenomenon threatens the ecosystem and disrupts the well-being and smooth functioning of people’s daily lives. The transition to renewable energies represents an alternative to confronting problems related to the environment and climate change. Madagascar is among the victims of this climate change and has initiated steps for energy transition and food self-sufficiency. Accelerating the transition to the use of renewable energy sources as well as increasing the population's access to healthy and nutritious food represent huge challenges that Madagascar aims to achieve. The renewable energy market and the impacts of this energy transition on food security were the subject of this research. Its main objectives are to describe the Malagasy energy mix and to study the impacts of this energy transition on households. The approach adopted is hypothetico-deductive, combining bibliographic studies, surveys of 50 households in the Rural Commune of Antehiroka, and data processing and analysis. The results showed a clear domination of renewable energies in the household energy mix characterized by the heavy use of biomass. Availability is the food security component most impacted by the energy transition. Apart from unfavorable climatic conditions, several other factors can also influence food security such as political instability (social unrest) or economic factors (unemployment, rising food prices). Systematic analysis of these factors is key to constructing scenarios that increase visibility of Madagascar’s energy and food trajectories.

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