On a dry hillside in Chamwino, central Tanzania, mango trees once struggled through months without rain while a diesel pump sat too costly for farmers to run often. A borehole was nearby, but the price of fuel made regular watering uncertain. When diesel costs rose, farmers irrigated less, harvests fell and household earnings stayed tight.
That changed in 2021, when a pilot project replaced the diesel setup with a solar-powered pump and drip irrigation. Within one season, farmers reported that both mango production and average income from mango sales roughly doubled. Solar power let them water their orchards beyond the rainy season and manage the trees more closely. The shift was not just from one pump to another: it reduced farmers’ reliance on fuel whose price can swing sharply.
The experience matters well beyond Chamwino. Diesel runs irrigation pumps, farm machinery, mills, refrigerators and generators across rural areas. It also powers road transport that carries farm inputs to growers and food to markets. When fuel prices jump, costs rise along the whole chain, squeezing farmers and small businesses and potentially making food more expensive.
A study by Energy for Growth Hub estimated that Africa had 150 to 190 gigawatts of distributed diesel generator capacity in operation in 2024, compared with 268 gigawatts connected to the electricity grid. Outside South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa had nearly one and a half times as much diesel generator capacity as grid-connected capacity. In at least 26 African countries, diesel capacity exceeded grid capacity. Just 33% of the region’s rural population had access to electricity, and even connected customers often faced outages or unreliable service.
Fuel price increases have made that dependence more costly. The average global retail price of diesel topped $1.50 per liter in the second quarter of 2026, up 32.9% from a year earlier. Across 42 African countries, retail prices rose by an average of 25% from mid-January to mid-June. In Nigeria, prices increased 86% between January and June; Tanzania and Ethiopia each saw increases of more than 50%. Some governments used subsidies, tax cuts or controlled prices to soften the blow, but those steps put pressure on public budgets.
The costs reach beyond fuel itself. Since the conflict in Iran began, fertilizer prices have climbed 30% to 45% in several African markets, raising the risk that farmers will use less, switch crops or miss planting windows. In Nigeria, women in a groundnut-processing cooperative said higher fuel and fertilizer costs pushed up the price of raw groundnuts and groundnut oil by 33%. In Myanmar, which imports more than 90% of its fuel and relies mainly on road transport, dearer diesel has raised the cost of moving food and farm supplies and contributed to rising rice prices.
Solar equipment does not solve every problem facing rural businesses, but Chamwino offers a clear example of what dependable power can change. Where pumps and other equipment can run on sunlight instead of costly diesel, farmers may have more control over when they work and how much they produce. As fuel prices remain exposed to global shocks, practical local energy options could help rural livelihoods become less vulnerable.