Opportunities and Barriers to Biogas Adoption in Malawi

Malawi has the potential to explore the utilization of biogas technology. The technology has existed in the country for decades. However, the uptake has been lower than expected. Further, there has been a high rate of dis-adoption of the installed systems. To deal with the problem, this study explored the opportunities and barriers to biogas technology to enhance biogas adoption and utilization in Malawi. Qualitative research methods using key informant interviews were employed to collect the data from biogas adopters, dis-adopters, potential adopters, and experts. A total of 22 households and 6 experts were interviewed. The findings of the study show that the country has opportunities for biogas adoption and utilization. The most mentioned opportunities were livestock farming practices, constraints to access to reliable energy sources, associated benefits of biogas technology, and land holding. However, the adoption of the technology has faced several challenges. Commonly cited barriers were the high installation and maintenance costs, inadequate feedstock, inappropriate dissemination approaches, lack of training after installation services and expertise, lack of reliable water sources, absence of ownership, lack of cooperation amongst institutions involved in biogas promotion, lack of a coordinating body for institutions involved in biogas dissemination, lack of standards, and socio-cultural factors. To overcome the challenges, strategies were identified, and these include the provision of incentives, loans and subsidies, provision of technical support services, having demonstration sites, employing suitable dissemination approaches, co-digestion or diversification of raw materials, awareness campaigns, and collaboration amongst sectors involved in biogas dissemination.