Irrigation is one of the pillars for reaching accelerated and sustainable growth in the agricultural sector. Agriculture has been expanding its arable land to regions that do not have enough rainfall for crop development, so irrigation has become an alternative for the complementation of the water needed for proper germination, growth and crop productivity.

The present study aims to demonstrate the potential of reducing emissions by replacing fossil powered irrigation systems by photovoltaic systems as well as its cost – benefits from 2010 to 2030.

The cost-benefit analysis of shifting from fossil fuel powered irrigation pumps to PV pumps was simulated using LEAP, a widely-used software tool for energy policy analysis and climate change mitigation assessment.

Two scenarios were performed using LEAP to compare emissions. The first scenario reflects possible emissions considering the Business as Usual while the second scenario considers an optimistic thinking where the systems are gradually replaced by photovoltaic until the target year.

Considering the total irrigated area of Mozambique, which is approximately 90,000 hectares, an extrapolation was performed taking into account the percentage share for each type of irrigation system, namely petrol, diesel or electricity powered pumps. Then the obtained results were used to simulate the total national energy demand for irrigation and corresponding CO2 emissions until 2030.

In 2017 demand for petrol, diesel and electricity starts decreasing gradually with the replacement of solar systems until 2029. CO2 Equivalent at the point of emissions shows no change from 2010 to 2016 with a value of 44.01 Metric Tonnes. From 2017 to 2029 it starts decreasing gradually until 2030 when the emission of CO2 Equivalent is almost zero. The cumulative costs and benefits from 2010 to 2030 relative to Business As Usual shows for the scenario of 100% solar systems a Net Present Value of -274.9 USD/Ha/year.