Solar-Powered Refrigeration Pilot Addresses Fishing and Agricultural Waste in Kenya

Across rural Kenya, farmers and fishers work hard to produce food and form the backbone of the rural economy, yet too much of it is lost before it can be sold.  For communities along Lake Victoria, the absence of reliable cold storage means fish spoil within hours, vegetables wilt before reaching markets, and incomes are lost daily. 

Kenya loses an estimated of  up to 30–40% of perishable agricultural and fish products  due to post-harvest losses before it reaches markets. In fact, studies show that Kenya loses approximately US $578 million annually due to post-harvest losses in fruits, vegetables, and fish alone. The reasons are simple: limited access to affordable and reliable cold storage, poor market linkages, and high energy costs.

These post-harvest losses undermine household incomes, increase food prices, and exacerbate food insecurity.  For farmers and fishers, this results in significant income losses, and for consumers, it means higher prices and food shortages.

Spoilage also contributes to Kenya’s greenhouse gas emissions; organic waste left to rot emits methane, which account for a significant share of the country’s total emissions. At the local level, the lack of energy-efficient cooling forces communities to rely on diesel generators, worsening air pollution and carbon output.

Yet progress on refrigeration remains slow. Despite multiple initiatives promoting solar solutions, most technologies still depend on large lithium-ion batteries, which are expensive and have limited lifespan. This makes traditional solar refrigeration financially and technically inaccessible for small-scale operators. The switch to more environmentally friendly refrigeration options is even more complex -- financing for clean refrigeration systems remains scarce, and few local technicians have the skills to install and maintain modern systems. 

Solar-powered refrigeration for farmers and fishers

To address this problem, the CCAC supported a pilot program in Siaya County, on the shores of Lake Victoria, to build two solar-powered cold rooms – large, refrigerated spaces used for the bulk storage -- that operate completely off-grid. Implemented by the Environmental Compliance Institute in collaboration with the Government of Siaya and Pluss Advanced Technologies Ltd, the project enables farmers and fishers to significantly reduce post-harvest spoilage, allowing them to store their produce safely rather than being forced to sell quickly—often at throwaway prices—simply to avoid losing their harvest. 

Each cold room will have a capacity of 5 metric tonnes, providing reliable, clean cooling for cooperatives of farmers and fishers. The system uses eco-friendly refrigerant propane (R-290) which has a very low global warming potential (GWP of 3) and zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), contributing to Kenya’s commitment to phase out ozone-depleting substances.

The project is more than a technical installation; it’s a model for engaging local communities in climate solutions to ensure that the solution is locally owned and scalable. It involves:

• Training government officials to integrate cold chain development into policy frameworks.

• Building the capacity of refrigeration technicians to assemble, install, and maintain the systems locally.

• Training end users—farmers, fishers, and traders, on operation, maintenance, and business management.

Continuing the success of Siaya’s cold storage

The Siaya pilot serves as a model for climate-smart cold storage projects that can be replicated across Kenya. Building on the pilot’s results, the Environmental Compliance Institute aims to expand PCM cold rooms to other agricultural counties, strengthen technician training and certification, mobilize green financing for cooperatives, and integrate cold storage into national climate adaptation and food security plans.

If expanded nationwide, this model could cut food waste by up to 30%, increase farmer incomes by 25–40%, and avoid thousands of tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions annually. These results would directly support Kenya’s commitments under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, a global agreement to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)—powerful greenhouse gases commonly used in cooling—while improving cooling access in developing countries.