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JERUSALEM, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Israel has launched a research program to promote energy production in agriculture, the state's Ministry of Energy said in a statement on Sunday.

"The climate crisis and global warming provide an opportunity to use the sun for food production while producing energy," the ministry noted.

The plan, formed by the Israeli energy and agriculture ministries, will promote the development of optimization and technological innovations in renewable energies that will operate alongside agriculture.

"This dual use of the same land resource will lead to double profit in an era of global warming and enable food security while generating electricity and reducing costs," the energy ministry added.

An innovative use of the sun for electricity generation will be tested above groves, fields, and greenhouses, unlike today's methods, in which photovoltaic panels are placed only on buildings or on the ground.

Under the plan, six studies, aimed to improve the efficiency of land use for agriculture and energy production, will receive a total governmental support of 3.5 million new shekels (1.07 million U.S. dollars).

One of the studies is developing a smart system that incorporates sheets for solar power generation, placed on vegetable greenhouses.

This study aims to reduce power consumption of greenhouses in hot areas by 40 percent, or to generate electricity for the power grid thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent. Enditem