Energy challenges: Threats or opportunities?

Abstract

Intertwined with agricultural issues and closely linked to the challenges of poverty discussed in Chap.10, the production of and access to energy are major issues for the growth of the South and for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. They are among the foremost prerequisites for economic and human development (Sachs 2005). In the agricultural and agrifood domain, energy remains a key factor for improving the production, harvesting, storage, processing and marketing of agricultural products (FAO 2000). Access to energy in rural areas is, in general, synonymous with improving the conditions of life and the diversification of income generating activities.