The agricultural sector has a key role to play in the energy transition. Energy is a major expense for farmers and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the sector.
The FTE, a key player involved in the energy transition since 2008, supports the Tunisian agricultural sector in managing its energy, by financing the reduction of its energy consumption and optimizing the energy performance of production sites and equipments.
Energy: a challenge for agriculture
The energy transition will have strong impacts on the Tunisian agriculture. It concerns all the production sectors. It implies reducing, and in some cases eliminating, the dependence of farms on fossil fuels, and contributing to the successful deployment of renewable energies in Tunisia.
While this energy transition is unavoidable for the agricultural sector, the challenges for agronomy are multiple. The objectives are (i) to develop or reinvent production systems that are less dependent on fossil resources (fuel, synthetic fertilizers, etc.), (ii) to integrate renewable energy production into farms and rural areas by finding the right balance with agricultural functions, and (iii) to evaluate the services provided and the impacts of renewable energy facilities to ecosystems.
It is thus likely that the country’s necessary energy transition will contribute to the in-depth transformation of agricultural systems, as it was already the case with the massive arrival of fossil energy in the second half of the 20th century. Agronomists have an essential role to play in integrating these inevitable developments in global and systemic approaches.
Agriculture as an enabler for the energy transition
More than an economic opportunity for farmers, the agricultural sector embodies a concrete response to environmental and energy challenges. Thanks to its resources, it positions itself as a key player in the energy transition. By integrating energy efficiency and renewable energy production into their activities, farmers are part of a viable and sustainable model, combining economic development and adaptation to environmental and societal issues.