Why do farmers take up biodigesters?

The assessment found that while small and mid-sized privately owned biodigesters provide health, environmental, and economic benefits, the 'community biodigester' model envisioned by Bangladesh's ILMM policy is not currently operational due to a lack of social capital and group financing. Adoption depends on access to finance, technical knowledge, livestock, and land.

• The study found no evidence of biodigesters that were collectively owned or managed by small-scale or landless farmers, contradicting the goals of Bangladesh’s Integrated Livestock Manure Management (ILMM) policy.
• Barriers to the implementation of community-managed biodigesters include a lack of community-based organizations, insufficient social capital to support collective operation, and a lack of financing available for self-organizing groups.
• Biodigesters provide health and environmental benefits by reducing indoor air pollution from cooking smoke and decreasing the amount of unmanaged manure and nutrient run-off.
• Socio-economic benefits vary by scale: small biodigesters provide fuel security for the household, while mid-sized digesters allow owners to sell biogas and organic fertilizer to the community and market.
• The primary financing mechanism for small biodigesters is microfinance provided by organizations like Grameen Shakti and BRAC, while the Rural Development Agency (RDA) typically finances mid-sized digesters for larger farms.
• Successful installation and operation of biodigesters require four basic conditions: access to finance, technical knowledge, sufficient livestock or manure, and adequate land.
• Women are central to manure management and biogas use, and their preferences and labor savings are key factors in the adoption of improved manure management practices.

APA

Biskupska, N., Pravalprukskul, P., & Osborne, M. (2019). Why do farmers take up biodigesters? Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/1708f-gill-osborne-biodigesters-bangladesh-100719-1.pdf

Chicago

Biskupska, Natalia, Pin Pravalprukskul, and Matthew Osborne. Why do farmers take up biodigesters? Stockholm Environment Institute, 2019. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/1708f-gill-osborne-biodigesters-bangladesh-100719-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Biskupska |first1=Natalia |last2=Pravalprukskul |first2=Pin |last3=Osborne |first3=Matthew |title=Why do farmers take up biodigesters? |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=July 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/1708f-gill-osborne-biodigesters-bangladesh-100719-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{biskupska2019why, author = {Biskupska, Natalia and Pravalprukskul, Pin and Osborne, Matthew}, title = {{Why do farmers take up biodigesters?}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/1708f-gill-osborne-biodigesters-bangladesh-100719-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }