**4. Economic feasibility of decentralized energy-water-food systems: case study Kpori**

The northern region of Ghana is selected as case study. Although Ghana has a relatively high national electrification rate of 82.5% (2016), there is a drastic regional contrast between urban and rural areas within the country [29]. While the urban Greater Accra area has the highest regional electrification rate of 85%, the three northernmost, sparsely populated regions have an average electrification rate of only 30% [30]. These rural areas are the most expensive regions to be connected to the main grid and therefore particularly suitable for off-grid energy solutions. Since rural northern Ghana is characterized by high solar radiation and high agricultural activity, the use of solar photovoltaics and the coupling of the energy sector to the water and food sectors promise great productivity potential.

Kpori is a village of about 300 inhabitants in the West Gonja District in the north of Ghana. It is an off-grid village with no access to the national energy network,

*Economic Development of Rural Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa through Decentralized… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90424*

water infrastructure, or telecommunications network. Although agriculture is their main economic activity and livelihood, farming in Kpori is 100% rainfall dependent. At the same time, domestic water supply relies on rainwater harvesting and hand pumps. As a result of a significant drop in rainfall and an increase in temperature over the last century, the already climatically stressed region is dependent on drought-resistant plants such as maize and sorghum. According to on-ground questionnaire, Kpori's inhabitants have an annual income per capita below the lower poverty line of 208 USD/year [31].
