How farmers can help grow China's solar power

Judging by the circulars emanating from the agriculture ministry in Beijing, the term "solar-integrated farming" has become a priority among agricultural officials. Taking the lead from other places like Australia, Israel and Japan, they want to use the expansion of solar power to subsidise the modernisation of Chinese agriculture and its massive aquaculture sector.

China needs to add an estimated 1,000 gigawatts of carbon-neutral energy capacity, such as solar power, to meet its commitment to capping carbon emissions by 2030 under the recent climate change deal signed with the US. That means a massive increase in the installation of solar panels, among other measures.

Indeed, China has been furiously adding solar capacity, becoming the world's No 1 installer, by adding panels to roofs of buildings and also through utility-scale installations, which congregate large numbers of panels in sunny, rural areas.

As China's agriculture is getting larger in scale and more professional, the country is also figuring that agriculture is the best way to increase the roll-out of solar panels. Indeed, it will seem a no-brainer to anyone who has visited rural areas and seen the fields of corn and vegetables as well as the large ponds for breeding freshwater fish like carp and tilapia.

Labour and land tend to be cheaper in rural China but incomes there lag behind urban areas, a disparity which worries the government. Under solar-integrated schemes, farmers are being paid to allow independent parties to install solar panels - though, under different plans, the farmers themselves install the panels and get paid for the electricity produced.

The sight of thousands of solar panels fixed to metal platforms above the rows of eggplants or giant ponds for fish and shrimp would make anyone optimistic.