Mixed crop and livestock (MCL) farming systems has been applied for many years to manage the limited resources owned by smallholder farmers. This farming practice is considered as the best practice to cultivate the limited resources by adopting an integrated life cycle approach within crop and livestock production. However, within this farming system, some externalities may appear because of the untreated livestock waste which may pollute air and the surrounding water environment at the farm. This may also affect greenhouse gas emission that potentially contributes to an increase of global warming. Thus, a new technology such as biogas technology may assist farmers to reduce these externalities by treating the livestock waste. The adoption of biogas technology can also provide private benefits such as biogas for cooking and slurry for organic fertilizer along with the social benefits such as reduction of air and water pollution and gas emission caused by manure. However, despite its multiple benefits, the biogas technology transfer is facing a slow rate of diffusion in most farm households in developing countries. This phenomenon calls for identification of reasons in order to develop solutions for biogas technology dissemination in developing countries.
This research aims to develop a relevant model of biogas technology transfer to support MCL farming in Indonesia based on the slow diffusion rate of biogas technology at farm level.
Two farm household surveys were carried out to study the following: 1) To assess the role of biogas technology adoption and its impact at farm level, 2) To examine the factors that influence biogas adoption among farmers, 3) To determine a relevant model of biogas technology transfer in regard to the slow rate of technology diffusion, 4) To describe the process of biogas technology transfer in the farming society - a case study combined with social network analysis.
Overall, the study may identify that availability of external funding and degree of connectedness of farmers in the biogas technology transfer, equal understanding among farmers in the society, optimum benefits from the biogas installation and interpersonal communication among neighborhood become critical points of the technology diffusion in the farming society.
These findings may potentially be useful to mitigate the technology diffusion problem in developing countries. The policy makers should consider that disseminating the biogas technology can be a complex policy planning that may require the understanding of technicalities and social impact.