Technical description of the innovation
Agrivoltaism, a protection system for food production

Agroforestry is part of a long tradition of protecting crops with shade. Historically, agroforestry has combined a short cereal or vegetable crop with a long tree crop to protect the crop on the ground. In addition to the economic aspect (annual income plus long-term investment), there are synergistic effects between the two crops. The more modern use of shade nets does provide protection, but removes the beneficial effects of investment in the wood sector. Where agroforestry is impossible (for reasons of water competition, for example), the use of photovoltaic panels seems beneficial: the crop is protected by shading and the eventual sale of wood is replaced by the production of electrical energy. However, the significant discrepancy between farm income and...