Soft-linking climate-land-water-energy assessment and planning models for sustainable development in rural Africa: preliminary results from the LEAP-RE RE4AFAGRI project

In rural areas of Africa most communities live in poverty and lack access to services such as electricity and clean cooking fuels, water supply that is safe for human use, sufficient and nutritious food, crop irrigation systems, and appliances and services that can foster income generation. Promoting sustainable development requires an integrated understanding and planning along such dimensions. In the context of the RE4AFAGRI (“Renewables for African Agriculture”) project of  LEAP-RE (Long-Term  Joint  Research  and  Innovation  Partnership  on  Renewable  Energy between  the European Union and the African Union), four models representing land-water-crop-food-energy requirements and dynamics (WaterCROP, M-LED, OnSSET and MESSAGE-NEST) are calibrated and soft-linked. The ultimate aim is to enable a multi-scale, multi-sectoral assessment and planning of technologies and policies that can promote integrated sustainable development in the region. Here we present preliminary results for a set of scenarios in the country-study of Zambia. Results can inform both public decision-makers and private companies engaging in those sectors. The approach and open-source modelling platform are readily scaled and adapted to other countries and regions.