Willingness to Adopt Biochar in Agriculture: The Producer’s Perspective

Abstract

Most research on biochar has focused either on the mechanistic or the biophysical aspects, and there has been relatively little research into the social applicability and acceptance of biochar as a soil enhancer in agriculture. However, whether to adopt biochar in their practice is ultimately the farmers' decision, and their willingness to do so is crucial. Here, we show the producer's perspective on adopting biochar, using Polish farmers as a case study. Poland is an interesting case study because biochar has only recently attracted the attention of researchers, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders there. We performed standardized, semi-structured interviews with 161 Polish farmers to evaluate the socioeconomic potential of biochar application in practice. We found that 27% of the respondents claimed to be familiar with biochar. The respondents with a technical, non-agricultural level of education were most familiar with the term 'biochar' (36%), followed by the group of respondents with a higher-level agricultural education (31%). It was surprising that among the latter respondents, the majority (69%) did not know the term 'biochar', either in the context used for this study or in any other context. Twenty percent of the respondents expressed an interest in using biochar, while 43% were not willing to adopt it in their agricultural practice (37% 'did not know yet'). If a farmer was familiar with the concept of sustainable agriculture, the probability of familiarity with biochar increased by 16% (p < 0.05). In addition, farmers interested in using biochar indicated that sustainable agriculture might improve the financial situation of their farms (52%). The perceived benefits of biochar that drive the willingness to adopt it included improved soil quality and increased income due to increased yields, while the constraints on its adoption were associated mainly with high costs. Our results also point to the necessity of information flow as well as engaging farmers in participatory research to adjust the research to their needs. Furthermore, our results highlight the importance of transparency with the farmers and appropriate dissemination and presentation of both the positive and the negative aspects of biochar adoption. We urge those studying biochar to engage in more interdisciplinary research and to go beyond laboratory and field research. Many innovations, even those that work, will not be adopted if socioeconomic considerations are not incorporated into the research.

Effects of Fertilizer Broadcasting on the Excessive Use of Inorganic Fertilizers and Environmental Sustainability

“…The method we approached is effective (face-to-face, focus group discussion, and phone interviews) for data collection, as semi-structured interviews [52] give farmers an opportunity to explain, increasing the response rate by finished questionnaires [52]. We conducted the interview with respondents selected by two-stage cluster sampling.…”

“…The districts chosen are agriculturally important and diversified in terms of agricultural patterns, farmers' agricultural practices, topographical difference, and nature of fertilization; however, the demographic features of all clusters are homogeneous. For the diversification of these agricultural areas, the credibility and reliability of the data can be considered high, as there is an established relationship between researchers and farmers [52].…”

Socio-economic Factors Affecting Fertilization Sustainability in Bangladesh: Effects of Traditional Way of Fertilization and Rental Land Farming

“…The method we approached is superior to others (face-to-face, focus group discussion, and phone interviews) in data collection process as semi-structured interview [42] gives farmers an opportunity to explain, increases response rate of finished questionnaires [42].…”

“…The districts chosen are important for agriculture; they are diversified in terms of agricultural pattern, farmers' characteristics, and fertilization nature. For the diversification of these agricultural areas the credibility and reliability of the data can be considered higher; as there are an established relationship between researchers and farmers [42]. We conducted 210 interviews with farmers in 2016 and opportunist sampling [42] was chosen.…”

“…The questionnaire has been prepared in non-scientific language [42] for clarification of the questions to the farmers. The set of questions was developed upon consultations with a good numbers of researchers and experts so that it can hold scientific ethics and can be appeared easier to farmers.…”