Methodological Evaluation of Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems in South Africa: A Panel-Data Estimation of Efficiency Gains in Rural Agriculture

Thandeka Nkosi · 2025 · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

Summary. Off-grid solar photovoltaic systems significantly boost technical efficiency in South African smallholder farming by 18.2 percentage points. Using panel-data econometric methods with stochastic frontier analysis, the study isolates the causal effect of PV adoption on farm productivity, finding the largest gains in irrigation and post-harvest processing. The research demonstrates that off-grid solar functions as a capital-enhancing input and recommends integrating targeted PV subsidies into agricultural support programs.

Read the original

@article{nkosi-2025-methodological-evaluation-off-grid-photovoltaic,
  title   = {Methodological Evaluation of Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems in South Africa: A Panel-Data Estimation of Efficiency Gains in Rural Agriculture},
  author  = {Thandeka Nkosi},
  journal = {Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.5281/zenodo.19485438},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19485438}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Methodological Evaluation of Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems in South Africa: A Panel-Data Estimation of Efficiency Gains in Rural Agriculture
AU  - Thandeka Nkosi
JO  - Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
PY  - 2025
DO  - 10.5281/zenodo.19485438
UR  - https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19485438
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.5281/zenodo.19485438

Countries

South Africa

Regions

Africa

Categories

agtech, energy, general-innovation

Added

2026-05-01