Barriers and Opportunities for Biochar Adoption

Perspectives from Agricultural Stakeholders in Belize

Abstract

Agriculture and ecosystem services are fundamental to livelihoods in Belize, underscoring the need to align agricultural productivity with environmental sustainability. This exploratory mixed-methods study examined stakeholder perspectives on biochar adoption using 28 semi-structured interviews and 41 online surveys conducted in 2017, followed by focus groups with 48 participants in 2018. Among the 69 interview and survey participants, farmers comprised 42%, extension officers 23%, educators/researchers 16%, government agents 10%, agricultural suppliers 4%, and other stakeholders 5%. Descriptive results showed that 44.9% reported general familiarity with biochar. In multiple-response items, 92.8% selected potential yield improvement and 66.7% selected environmental protection as motivations, whereas frequently selected barriers included biochar cost (78.3%), skepticism (75.4%), and transportation cost (69.6%). Focus-group participants emphasized education, local field research, and stakeholder collaboration. These findings document perceptions rather than measured agronomic or environmental effects. Although the data were collected in 2017–2018, they provide a baseline for assessing whether awareness, evidence, and institutional readiness have changed as attention to climate-smart agriculture and biochar has expanded.