Willingness of rural communities to adopt biogas systems in Pakistan: Critical factors and policy implications

Biogas is a methane-rich gas that is produced by the anaerobic fermentation of organic material, such as animal dung. Pakistan has the sixth largest livestock-based economy in the world and thus demonstrates great potential for biogas production. The government has already started the Biogas Support Program (BSP) in a few selected areas of the country. With that in mind, this study was designed to determine a household's predicted willingness-to-adopt a biogas system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The study is based on primary data collected from four districts: Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda, and Mardan. Data was collected from 200 livestock farming households selected through an equal allocation technique. Probit analysis was used to identify those factors influencing the willingness of a household to adopt a biogas system. The results of the probit model reveal that the education level of the respondents, total daily electric shortfall, the effect of electric shortfall on childrens' education and female drudgery, and respondents' awareness regarding the pros and cons of using biogas were statistically significant factors. On the basis of p < 0.001 for the overall regression model, which means that the overall model was highly significant, it is concluded that the socio-economic characteristics of the population are the main factors contributing to the adoption of a biogas system in the area. The study recommends that increased public and private investments should be encouraged and the government's financial policies made in a pro-poor fashion for the large-scale promotion of biogas technology in Pakistan.