The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Solar Energy in the Agricultural Sector: The Case of Morocco

Authors

  • Roberto Ariel Telleria Juárez Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome – Italy
  • Hassane Serghini Idrissi University of Hassan II, Rabat - Morocco
  • Ampaitepin Singhabhandhu Arab Center for Consulting and Training Services (ACCTS), Amman - Jordan
  • Aden Aw-Hassan Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Canada
  • Abdelali Laamari Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Rabat – Morocco

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24203/ajafs.v8i3.6232

Keywords:

Solar energy; Groundwater; Emissions; Subsidy, Morocco

Abstract

The main purpose of this research was to analyse the potential of solar panels to replace both LPG (butane gas cylinders) and diesel currently used in Morocco for agricultural irrigation. A swap would help Morocco to conserve the environment by using cleaner energy, as well as moving towards meeting Morocco’s emission targets. For this purpose, we surveyed 112 farmers in two Moroccan regions, Sidi El Aidi and Fquih Ben Salah. We found that pumping one cubic meter of groundwater with solar energy was in average 33.3% cheaper in Sidi El Aidi, and 60.6% cheaper in Fquih Ben Salah than pumping using LPG.

Net present value estimates suggest that investing in solar panels is profitable. Environmental analysis suggested that switching from LPG or diesel to solar energy would save the equivalent amount of energy used by 13–25 million 60-W electric bulbs per year. The government, farmers and the environment would gain by replacing LPG with solar energy. However, once solar panels are installed, pumping cost is virtually zero. Farmers may be tempted to overuse irrigation water, and consequently accelerate the depletion of groundwater. Implementing groundwater regulations to control the amount of groundwater pumped should precede any government program intended to promote solar energy.

 

References

• Albertin, G., 2014. Subsidy Reform in MENA. Presentation at the 7th annual meeting of the MENA Senior Budget Officials held on 10–11 December 2014. http://www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting (accessed on 29 May, 2020).

• Aligah, M.A., 2011. Design of photovoltaic water pumping system and compare it with diesel powered pump. Jordan J. Mech. Ind. Eng. 5, 273–280.

• Argaw, N., Foster, R., & Ellis, A., 2003. Renewable energy for water pumping application in rural villages. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA.

• Aw-Hassan A., Rida F., Telleria R. and Bruggeman A., 2014. The impact of food and agricultural policies on groundwater use in Syria. Journal of Hydrology 513 (2014) 204–215.

• Bekele, A.S. Lemperiere, P., & Tulu, T., 2009. Pumps for small-scale irrigation. International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Supported through: Improving Productivity and Market Success (IPMS) of Ethiopian farmers project and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

• Bhave, A., 1994. Potential for solar water-pumping systems in India. Applied Energy 48, 197–200.

• Chikaire, J., Nnadi, F.N., Nwakwasi, R.N., Anyoha, N.O, Aja O.O., Onoh P.A., & Nwachukwu C.A., 2010. Solar energy applications for agriculture. Journal of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences 2, 58–62.

• FAO, 2015. AQUASTAT Profil de Pays – Maroc. http://www.fao.org/3/ca0203fr/CA0203FR.pdf (accessed on 12 June 2020).

• FAO, 2018. The benefits and risks of solar-powered irrigation - a global overview. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. Hans Hartung. http://www.fao.org/3/i9047en/I9047EN.pdf (accessed on 12 April 2020).

• Geosciences, 2020. Moroccan Groundwater Resources and Evolution with Global Climate Changes. Geosciences 2020, 10, 81; doi:10.3390/geosciences10020081. Hssaisoune M., Bouchaou L., Sifeddine A., Bouimetarhan I., and Chehbouni A., https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/2/81/pdf (accessed on 21 May 2020)

• Hespress, 2019. PLF 2020 : Baisse observée de la compensation du gaz butane. Khadija Khettou. https://fr.hespress.com/102613-plf-2020-baisse-observee-de-la-compensation-du-gaz-butane.html (accessed on 11 June, 2020).

• ICARDA, 2010. Water Benchmarks Project. http://www.icarda.org/water-benchmarks-project (accessed on 11 April, 2020).

• IISD, 2018. Swap: Reformer l’appui au gaz butane pour investir dans le solaire au Maroc. International Institute for Sustainable Development. Publié par l’Institut international du développement durable. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/swap-morocco-fr.pdf (accessed on 11 April, 2020).

• IISD, 2019. Fossil Fuel to Clean Energy Subsidy Swaps: How to pay for an energy revolution. Bridle R., Sharma s., Mostafa M. and Geddes A. International Institute for Sustainable Development. And Global Subsidies Initiative.

• IMF, 2014. Subsidy Reform in the Middle East and North Africa Recent Progress and Challenges Ahead. Sdralevich C., Sab R., Zouhar Y., and Albertin G. International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/dp/2014/1403mcd.pdf (accessed on 12 February, 2020).

• IMF, 2017. If Not Now, When? Energy Price Reform in Arab Countries. Annual Meeting of Arab Ministers of Finance. April 2017, Rabat, Morocco. International Monetary Fund. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2017/06/13/if-not-now-when-energy-price-reform-in-arab-countries (accessed on 21 December, 2019).

• McCathran M., Anderson B., and Hermitte S., 2015. Groundwater Production Monitoring in the State of Texas. Technical Note 15-06. https://www.twdb.texas.gov/publications/reports/technical_notes/doc/TechnicalNote15-06.pdf (accessed on 2 February, 2019)

• MEFRA, 2020. Ministère de L’économie, des Finances et de la Réforme de L’administration, Royaume du Maroc. https://www.finances.gov.ma/Publication/db/2020/rapport-compens-plf20-fr.pdf (accessed on 12 June, 2020).

• Narvarte L., Lorenzo E., & Aandam, M., 2005. Lessons from a PV pumping programme in south Morocco. Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 13:261–270.

• Ould-Amrouchea S., Rekiouab D., & Hamidata A., 2010, Modeling photovoltaic water pumping systems and evaluation of their CO2 emissions mitigation potential. Applied Energy; 87(11):3451-9.

• World Bank, 2013. Implementing Energy Subsidy Reforms - Evidence from Developing Countries. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Maria Vagliasindi. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/11965 (accessed on 9 April, 2020).

• World Bank, 2019. Créer des Marchés au Maroc une Deuxième Génération de Réformes : Stimuler la Croissance du Secteur Privé, la Création D’emplois et L’amélioration des Compétences Diagnostic du Secteur Privé. https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/17d935af-349c-4c6f-93f5-5d85f0c16e39/201910-CPSD-Morocco-FR.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=n48yfDT (accessed on 6 June, 2020).

Downloads

Published

2020-06-30

How to Cite

Telleria Juárez, R. A., Idrissi, H. S., Singhabhandhu, A., Aw-Hassan, A., & Laamari, A. . (2020). The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Solar Energy in the Agricultural Sector: The Case of Morocco. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.24203/ajafs.v8i3.6232

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 3 (2020): June 2020

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2020 Roberto Ariel Telleria Juárez, Hassane Serghini Idrissi, Ampaitepin Singhabhandhu, Aden Aw-Hassan, • Abdelali Laamari

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

  • Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis) and are not currently under consideration by another journal published by any other publisher.
  • It is also the authors responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular source are submitted with the necessary approval.
  • The authors warrant that the paper is original and that he/she is the author of the paper, except for material that is clearly identified as to its original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required.
  • The authors ensure that all the references carefully and they are accurate in the text as well as in the list of references (and vice versa).
  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  • The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.