Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, emphasized the benefits of integrating solar energy with agriculture in India at the 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference. The initiative aims to support farmers' economic well-being while promoting renewable energy.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, speaking as the keynote speaker at the 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, advocated for integrating agriculture with solar energy. He stated that this approach was a pathway towards global welfare and greater economic prosperity for farmers.
Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian farmers are set to become both 'annadatas' (food providers) and 'urjadatas' (energy providers) by adopting solar energy. The Union Agriculture Minister explained that AgriVoltaics technology would enable solar panels to generate electricity above the ground while crops continued to flourish beneath.
India, with an average landholding of just 0.96 hectares and more than 85 per cent of farmers being small and marginal, needs a model that is practically viable on small farmers' fields. The Union Minister highlighted that if AgriVoltaics installations were established on just 10 per cent of suitable land, India could meet its entire projected electricity demand up to 2050 through this approach alone.
The technology has also been found to increase crop yields by 10 to 20 per cent.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
