Land Use Competition: Food Security vs Energy Production

Master the Moment and Reach Your Peak with Defoes

“Food security and energy production need not be opposing objectives. The most resilient land strategies recognise genuine trade-offs, protect productive capacity and seek complementary uses—where renewable infrastructure strengthens agricultural operations, rather than displacing the resources and communities on which food systems depend.”

Food and energy are both essential to long-term economic resilience. Yet as countries expand renewable generation, bioenergy, grid infrastructure and carbon-management projects, productive land is becoming a more contested resource.

For investors, landowners and internationally mobile families, this creates a practical challenge. How can real assets support the energy transition without weakening food supply, local livelihoods or the long-term productive value of land?

The answer is not to treat food security and energy production as opposing objectives. It is to recognise where they genuinely conflict, where they can coexist, and where careful planning protects both capital and communities.

A Finite Resource

Food security exists when people have reliable physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. Achieving it depends on more than the quantity of available farmland. Water, labour, transport, storage, soil quality, energy access and stable markets all influence whether food can be produced and delivered affordably.

At the same time, energy systems are changing. Solar farms, wind projects, grid connections, battery storage, bioenergy crops and hydrogen infrastructure each require land or depend upon access to it. Well-located sites—near transport, population centres or grid capacity—often hold particular value for both agriculture and infrastructure.

Competition becomes most acute where land is fertile, scarce or environmentally significant. Agricultural areas can face pressure from urban growth, drought, soil degradation and changing weather patterns before energy development is even considered. Adding poorly planned infrastructure can increase these pressures and reduce the resilience of local food systems.

The Food and Agriculture Organization has warned that biomass production for energy can create additional risks of land degradation, food insecurity and greenhouse gas emissions. This issue is especially relevant where dedicated energy crops displace food production, reduce pasture, consume limited water resources or encourage the conversion of high-carbon ecosystems.

Energy Also Supports Food

The relationship is not solely competitive. Agriculture depends on dependable energy for irrigation, machinery, fertiliser production, transport, processing and cold storage. Renewable energy can therefore strengthen food systems when it lowers operating costs, improves reliability or extends power access in rural areas.

FAO notes that solar, wind, hydropower and bioenergy can support agricultural activities across the food chain, including irrigation, transport, processing, storage, refrigeration and cold-chain services. In this sense, the quality and location of an energy project matter as much as the technology itself.

A solar installation connected to a farm may support water pumping, crop storage or local processing. Battery storage may help maintain refrigeration during periods of grid disruption. Small-scale renewable systems may enable production in areas where conventional energy access is unreliable or expensive.

For asset owners, this introduces a more nuanced view of value. Energy infrastructure can be an extractive use of land, but it can also be enabling infrastructure for a more productive agricultural economy.

The Importance of Dual Use

The most resilient land strategies often seek complementary uses. Agrivoltaics, for example, combines agricultural production with solar generation on the same land. Depending on crop type, design, climate and operating model, panels may coexist with grazing, pollinator habitat or shade-tolerant crops.

This approach is not universally suitable. It requires careful attention to soil conditions, machinery access, water management, local agricultural practice and the economics of both farming and energy generation. Poor design can make neither activity work well.

However, the principle is important: land should not automatically be assigned to a single purpose when a well-managed combination could deliver more durable outcomes. The International Energy Agency’s Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme has identified dual land use for agriculture and solar as an area requiring detailed consideration of technical performance and operational challenges.

Other approaches may include rooftop solar on warehouses and agricultural buildings, generation on brownfield sites, floating solar on appropriate water infrastructure, or battery storage near existing substations. These options may reduce pressure on high-quality farmland, although each carries its own planning and environmental considerations.

A Framework for Long-Term Decisions

For clients assessing land and infrastructure themes, the critical issue is not simply immediate revenue potential. It is future optionality. Productive land may carry agricultural, environmental, energy and strategic value simultaneously, and that value can evolve as policy, climate conditions and local demand change.

A disciplined process begins with understanding the land: soil quality, water access, biodiversity, grid proximity, legal title and planning constraints. It then evaluates the consequences of a proposed use for agricultural productivity, local acceptance and long-term resilience. Finally, it considers access to opportunities through specialist expertise, appropriate due diligence and independent advice.

Defoes approaches land-use themes through this broader lens. The aim is not to favour energy over food, or food over energy, but to identify structures in which real assets can support long-term security without overlooking the practical needs of the communities and systems around them.

Disclaimer: The content provided herein is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. It is not a substitute for professional consultation. Investing involves risk, and past performance is not indicative of future results. We strongly encourage you to consult qualified experts tailored to your specific circumstances. By engaging with this material, you acknowledge and agree to these terms.