In the sun-scorched fields of Tetulia, Panchagarh district, a quiet revolution is underway—one that could redefine how Bangladesh balances its growing appetite for food, energy, and water. Shahana Afrose Chowdhury, a researcher at the Center for Sustainable Development at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) in Dhaka, has spent the last two years exploring an unconventional solution: agrivoltaics. The concept is deceptively simple—growing crops beneath solar panels—but its implications are anything but.
Chowdhury’s study, published in *Plant-Environment Interactions* (formerly known as *Plant, Cell & Environment Interactions*), is the first of its kind in Bangladesh to put agrivoltaics to the test in real-world conditions. For two growing seasons, she and her team cultivated crops under solar panels at two solar irrigation pump (SIP) sites, comparing yields to adjacent open fields. The results? A nuanced picture of opportunity and adaptation.
Some crops, like tomato, onion, and garlic, saw yield reductions of 10–20% under the shade of PV panels during the Rabi (winter) season. But in the Kharif-I (summer) season, shade-tolerant crops like ginger and turmeric thrived, recording yield increases of 12.3% and 8.7%, respectively. Extrapolating these findings across Bangladesh’s existing 45 hectares of SIP-covered land suggests a potential nationwide harvest of nearly 594 metric tons of ginger and turmeric—worth an estimated US$0.56 million per season.
“Farmers were initially skeptical,” Chowdhury says. “But once they saw the dual benefits—energy from the panels and income from the crops—they became more open to the idea.” The study also revealed a surprising social dividend: women’s participation in crop management and post-harvest activities increased, contributing to household income diversification.
For the energy sector, the implications are significant. Solar irrigation pumps are already a growing part of Bangladesh’s renewable energy landscape, but agrivoltaics could turn them into multi-functional assets. Instead of competing with agriculture for land, these solar arrays could coexist with it, generating power while supporting food production.
“This isn’t just about squeezing more out of the land,” Chowdhury notes. “It’s about creating resilient systems that adapt to climate change while meeting our energy and food needs.”
The study’s findings suggest that agrivoltaics could be a climate-smart solution for land-use efficiency, particularly in resource-constrained regions. But scaling it up will require more than just proof of concept—it will demand collaboration between farmers, policymakers, and energy providers to refine crop selection, optimize panel placement, and ensure economic incentives align with adoption.
As Bangladesh looks to expand its renewable energy infrastructure, agrivoltaics could offer a way forward—one where solar panels don’t just power pumps but also sustain livelihoods. The question now is whether the country’s agricultural and energy sectors are ready to embrace this dual-use vision.