Socio-Economic Determinants for Biochar Deployment in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania

Peter Msumali Rogers,Pius Yanda,Mathias Fridahl,Noah Pauline,Simon Haikola,Anders Hansson

doi:10.3390/en15010144

Peter Msumali Rogers, Pius Yanda + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en15010144

Copy DOI

Journal: Energies	Publication Date: Dec 26, 2021
Citations: 15	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Dar es Salaam, Linköping University

Abstract

Biochar may contribute to both agricultural productivity and atmospheric carbon dioxide removal. However, despite the many potential upsides of adding biochar to amend carbon-depleted soils in sub-Saharan Africa, deployment is largely lacking. This paper explores the socio-economic factors that can explain tendencies to avoid action. Based on a survey of 172 farming households, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions in the Mbeya and Songwe regions of Tanzania, which were targeted for a biochar aid program in 2014, several socio-economic drivers behind the continued use of biochar deployment were identified in this follow-up study. A key deployment driver was the increased crop yields, perceived to be the result of adding biochar to soils, increasing yields from 1 metric ton per hectare to 3 metric tons per hectare. Food security and family income were cited as the main reasons to engage in biochar production and use. Climate change mitigation and increased resilience were other key reasons that motivated adoption. In terms of socio-economic factors, farmers with low education and income, the majority being males aged 40–60 years, contributed to low adoption rates in the study area. Respondents often cited the alternative usage of biochar feedstocks, lack of government involvement or extension services, traditions, and farming customs as the main constraints limiting biochar deployment.

Highlights

Applying biochar to agricultural soils has been put forward as a potential remedy for carbon-depleted and acidic soils, and as a method to adapt agriculture to the increasingly harsh impacts of climate change [1]
In order to substantiate the relationships between socio-economic variables and biochar deployment indicated in previous research, this study returned to an area in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania in which farmers had previously been introduced to biochar through the Black Earth Project, initiated in 2014 [18]
This study shows that 82% of smallholder farmers with prior knowledge of biochar (n = 68) pointed out that the alternative use of biochar feedstocks was a reason for not engaging in biochar technology

Summary

Introduction

Applying biochar to agricultural soils has been put forward as a potential remedy for carbon-depleted and acidic soils, and as a method to adapt agriculture to the increasingly harsh impacts of climate change [1]. Slow pyrolysis is recommended for biochar production [3]. Due to its high aromaticity, the carbon in biochar is highly recalcitrant in soils because the carbonized product becomes resistant to decomposition [3]. The soil stores atmospheric carbon trapped in the char, and helps to mitigate climate change [4]. Depending on the properties of the biochar and the soil, the carbon storage can be stable for decades, or even centuries [5]. Biochar can balance soil pH, especially in the kinds of acid soils that are abundant in Tanzania; it ameliorates the effects of bacterial communities, to the benefit of yields [7]

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion