Odisha Leads India's Clean Energy-Agriculture Convergence with First Agri-Photovoltaics Summit
Bhubaneswar: In a bold step towards sustainable farming and clean energy adoption, Odisha on Wednesday hosted its first Agri-Photovoltaics (APV) summit — SunKranti APV 2025 — with a strong call to integrate solar power with agriculture to double farmer incomes and promote climate resilience.
Addressing the event, Odisha Legislative Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy emphasised the transformative potential of APV in improving rural livelihoods, particularly for smallholder farmers.
“Agri-Photovoltaics (APV) can serve as a third crop, supplementing income while ensuring food and energy security. With the right awareness and integration into schemes like PM-KUSUM, this model can uplift thousands of farmers across the state,” she said.
Agri-Photovoltaics is an emerging innovation that enables the dual use of land for farming and solar energy generation, allowing crops to grow beneath or around solar panels. This model enhances land productivity and offers farmers an additional source of revenue.
With more than 300 sunny days a year and average solar irradiance of 5.3 kilowatt-hours per square metre per day (5.3 kWh/m²/day), Odisha is ideally placed to scale up APV solutions. The state currently generates 2,938 MW of renewable energy, 21 per cent of which is solar, and is targeting a total of 7.5 GW in solar capacity by 2030.
At the summit, the spotlight was on Odisha’s first community-led APV pilot in Koraput, initiated by development organization Passing Gifts in collaboration with the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). This pioneering model integrates solar infrastructure with active cropping, empowering tribal farmers in remote regions.
“This concept has the potential to bring a transformational shift in rural development, especially in integrating clean energy with allied sectors like fisheries and livestock,” said Gokulananda Mallick, Odisha’s minister for fisheries and animal resources development.
Delivering the keynote, Padma Shri Dr Ashok Gulati, renowned agricultural economist and ICRIER Professor, said: “Agro-Photovoltaics presents a tremendous opportunity to double farmers' incomes in a relatively short span. However, success lies in training, awareness, and embracing new farming paradigms.”
The state’s energy department is already gearing up for pilot implementation. Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary, Odisha’s department of energy, said: “Agri-Photovoltaics is a brilliant concept, but for it to be scalable, we must first research which crops thrive best under solar installations. Odisha is committed to exploring this as part of its renewable energy roadmap.”
Adding to the momentum, Dr Arbinda Kumar Padhee, principal secretary, department of agriculture; Dr Satyapriya Rath, managing director, GRIDCO; and Dr D.K. Singh, principal scientist, IARI, participated in extensive panel discussions, underscoring the role of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in implementing APV models.
Passing Gifts, the summit organiser, works across Odisha’s Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, and Koraput districts supporting rural livelihoods through poultry, goat rearing, and spice value chains. It now aims to lead the solar-agriculture integration revolution.
Neena Joshi, senior vice president, Heifer International — the parent entity of Passing Gifts, said, “We believe caring for the Mother Earth is essential to sustainable development. APV offers a powerful solution to address food security, energy access, and climate challenges simultaneously — not only in India but across South Asia,”
Akshaya Biswal, Program Director – Odisha, Passing Gifts, added: “SunKranti APV 2025 demonstrates how smallholder farmers can benefit from a model that combines productivity with sustainability. Our focus is to empower FPOs to lead this change.”
“SunKranti APV 2025 is more than just a summit. It represents the convergence of innovation, inclusion, and action. We aim to create a replicable model where clean energy and agriculture thrive together,” said Rina Soni, executive director, Passing Gifts.