The role of biomass in energy and fuel production as an alternative to fossil fuel is vitally important considering carbon dioxide production vs. secure energy. Sustainable, renewable and reliable resources of domestically produced biomass together with wind and solar energy are sensible options to support a small-scale power generation to meet local electricity demand plus provide heat for rural development. The present work focuses on: 1. Design, build and operate a vertical downdraft biomass gasifier with tar removal 2. Establishing the optimum operating methodology and parameters to maximize syngas production in biomass gasification through process testing. The one ton per day biomass gasification process unit designed in this work included a downdraft biomass thermochemical conversion gasifier, gas transportation line with tar removal and an enclosed combustion chamber. The reactor used internal heat transfer surfaces to enhance intra-bed heat and mass transfer inside the reactor. Three different woody biomass feedstock including pellets, picks and flakes were examined in this work. Specific results described in this paper include identifying and characterizing the key operating factors (i.e., temperature profile, feed stock carbon/hydrogen mass ratio, and air flow rate) required to optimize reactor yield. To achieve the maximum syngas production yield, experiments carried out using classical experimental design methodology.