News in brief: The National Development Bank of Botswana (NDB Botswana) is partnering with the German government and GIZ to create a sustainable agriculture model through a Green Energy Transition project. The initiative aims to address global environmental challenges in the agricultural sector by promoting sustainable farming and providing subsidies for small and medium-sized farmers to adopt green technologies.
The National Development Bank of Botswana (NDB Botswana) has set its sights on creating a sustainable agriculture model with a Green Energy Transition project that can be replicated all over the world.
It is working with the German government and Deutsche Gesellschaft for Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. GIZ is also known as the German Agency for International Cooperation in English and provides solutions to improve living conditions on the international level.
NDB Botswana wants to solve global environmental problems that arise from agricultural practices that produce greenhouse emissions. It is promoting sustainable farm practices as an alternative with this project.
The bank’s CEO, Ogone Madisa, highlighted how significant agricultural pollution is to the environment during her address at the project’s launch. Electricity and heat demands contribute about 25% of the sector’s overall emissions. Thus, tackling this sector with green energy will make a difference.
The project will involve providing 65% subsidies to small and medium-sized farmers in the country to afford green technologies and other innovative techniques that reduce their carbon footprint. Some of these will include solar equipment for pumping, cooling, heating, and lighting, as well water-efficient irrigation systems and other energy-saving solutions.
According to a report, the International Climate Initiative of the German Ministry of Environment has provided â¬850,000 (or $926,000) to finance the project. GIZ will support with technical assistance.
Sustainable agriculture is more important now than ever before. The sector’s greenhouse gas emissions keep growing. Meanwhile, food demand is increasing as well. The only way to increase food production and while reducing climate degrading emissions is to pivot from the traditional farming systems. Thus, Botswana’s sustainable agriculture project through green energy transition is a vital endeavour. If the model works, the state-sponsored institution plans to share its ideas with the rest of the world.
