The Impact of Agrivoltaics on Caribbean Food Systems

• Patience Adodoadji, Environmental Science, University of Delaware

• Lindsay Naylor, Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware

Agrivoltaics are a type of energy and agricultural infrastructure that combines solar photovoltaic (PV) energy and the growing of crops or ranching on the same area of land, which can help provide sustainable food and energy systems. This infrastructure has developed the most in Europe and is advancing in the Americas. One region of the world that could greatly benefit from the implementation of agrivoltaics is the Caribbean. Due to the negative effects of post-colonialism and globalization, particularly on the economies and governance power of these areas, along with the growing threat of the climate crisis that has caused immense environmental degradation, many local people have been subjected to environmental injustices that affect their quality of life. 

To better understand the impact of agrivoltaics on food systems in Jamaica and Puerto Rico, information was collected using secondary sources like the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the agricultural government organizations in these regions. These sources contained information on the agricultural production, imports, and exports, along with how other factors such as tourism and hurricanes affect these systems. Using the works of A Small Place (1988) and Life and Debt (2001) by Jamaica Kincaid as a starting point, information was updated and collected on various justice topics, such as postcolonial eco-criticism, neo-colonialism, self-determination, and the right-to-stay in relation to food sovereignty in the Caribbean. The findings show that agrivoltaics do have the potential to improve the socioeconomic status of the local people and help them as they work to right the harms of environmental degradation and injustices, based on the agricultural practices already in place. However, there is still limited research on these systems in the Caribbean that make it difficult to understand their full value, which is a possible area for future work.