Farmers’ preferences and willingness to adopt anaerobic digestion technologies: a case study in rural areas in Colombia

Abstract

Although Colombia has a great potential for bioenergy production, the national energy matrix still has gaps and challenges when it refers to the promotion, adoption, and implementation of renewable sources of energy. In this study, we investigated the preferences of the local farmers and their willingness to adopt biogas technologies. Based on the results obtained, a protocol for the adoption of biodigesters by small farmers was proposed. The results obtained in this study show that the majority of the respondents of this study are the owners of their land, and use it mainly for agricultural purposes. Although about 56% of the inquiries do not have enough knowledge on how to obtain biogas from agricultural or livestock waste, about 93% are willing to use gas/biogas technologies instead of using firewood and other dry organic waste. Based on the results obtained in this study a protocol to support the development and implementation of biogas technologies in the rural areas of Colombia was proposed, taking into account the bioenergy potential available and the profile of the farmers.