Abstract
Bangladesh faces a critical sustainability challenge at the intersection of food security, energy demand, and land scarcity. With over 168 million people, shrinking arable land, and renewable energy contributing less than 4% of electricity generation despite abundant solar resources, innovative land-use strategies are urgently needed. Agrivoltaics—the co-location of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with crop cultivation offers a promising solution to this energy–food–land nexus. This systematic review of 41 experimental studies synthesizes global evidence on microclimatic modifications, crop productivity, PV performance, and land-use efficiency. Results demonstrate that PV shading reduces soil and canopy temperatures by 0.5–5.6°C, increases soil moisture by 0.4–29%, and decreases evapotranspiration by 12–34%, improving water availability under heat-stressed conditions. Shade-tolerant vegetables, tubers, and legumes maintain yields under moderate shading, whereas rice exhibits 13–35% yield reductions. Land equivalent ratio values (1.2–2.05) confirm superior land-use efficiency compared to separate systems. Despite rapid global progress, no agrivoltaic field trials exist in Bangladesh. This review identifies critical gaps including rice-specific optimization, monsoon performance, smallholder economics, and cyclone-resilient design. We propose a phased deployment pathway prioritizing shade-tolerant crops (potato, vegetables, pulses), followed by rice-based trials and integration into national renewable energy planning. Agrivoltaics offers a climate-resilient pathway for Bangladesh to simultaneously enhance renewable energy, food security, and land-use efficiency.
Biography
Dr. Sujon Kumar completed his Ph.D. in Crop Genetics and Breeding at Sichuan Agricultural University, China (2025) on a Sichuan Government Scholarship. He holds BSAg from IUBAT and M.Sc. in Biotechnology from UODA, Dhaka. He has served as Research Associate at CARITAS Bangladesh and Principal at an Agriculture Technology Institute. Dr. Kumar has published in Next Energy, BMC Genomics, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, and Frontiers in Plant Science. His research focuses on improving crop nutritional quality and food security through integrative breeding approaches, specializing in wheat and barley starch biosynthesis and anthocyanin accumulation. He is a member of PBGSB and YPARD Bangladesh.
