Chief Executive of SMEFUNDS, Dr. Femi Oye, has called for a strategic shift in global waste-to-energy (WtE) investments toward agriculture, arguing that rural deployment is critical to food security and inclusive economic growth.
Oye spoke against the backdrop of projections that the global WtE market will reach $50.92 billion by 2032, growing at an estimated 4.5 per cent annually. He said while urban and industrial centres have dominated investments, agricultural communities hold the greatest untapped potential due to the abundance of farm residues.
According to him, unreliable electricity remains the biggest constraint on agricultural productivity in emerging economies, limiting cold storage, irrigation and food processing and worsening post-harvest losses. He said farm-integrated energy systems could address both energy poverty and food insecurity simultaneously.
“The future of waste-to-energy lies beyond urban incineration. Agricultural waste is an underutilised resource, and deploying modular conversion technologies close to farms can stabilise rural energy supply and strengthen food systems,” Oye said.
He urged governments and investors to support “Agri-Grid” projects that convert residues such as stalks, husks and organic trimmings into baseload power for farming clusters, shielding rural producers from volatile fossil fuel markets.
Oye added that integrating waste-to-energy into agriculture would create local circular economies, enable rural industrialisation and open new income streams through bio-fertilisers, carbon credits and sustainability-linked financing.
