On-Farm Anaerobic Digestion: a dissection of policy barriers to uptake

Rob Ackrill and Hafez Abdo

No 289681, 93rd Annual Conference, April 15-17, 2019, Warwick University, Coventry, UK from Agricultural Economics Society - AES

Abstract: In recent years, the multifunctionality of farming activities and diversification of on-farm income sources have increasingly included the generation of renewable energy. The uptake of on-farm anaerobic digestion, however, continues to lag behind other renewable energy sources, notably wind and solar. The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the policy barriers that might explain this relative absence of anaerobic digestion from UK farming. This is doubly important, given that anaerobic digestion is not only a potential source of renewable energy, but also a means of waste management within certain farming systems. The analysis draws on a mixed-methods research project, with data from 153 responses to a questionnaire sent to farmers in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in March 2016; 18 in-depth interviews with stakeholders in the anaerobic digestion sector; and a workshop that brought together stakeholders in a round-table discussion. The qualitative data are coded and then analysed utilising a model of policy analysis that distinguishes between three levels of policy means and policy ends. The findings of this analysis provide important insights into the challenges of devising a policy that can effectively promote on-farm anaerobic digestion.

Keywords: Environmental Economics and Policy; Resource/Energy Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31
Date: 2019-04-15
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aesc19:289681

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.289681

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