Title: DETERMINANTS OF BENEFICIARIES' ATTITUDE TOWARDS BIOGAS TECHNOLOGY

Authors: Pooja Prajapati, Hemlata Saini and Abhijeet Sarje

Publisher: The President, Society of Extension Education Gujarat

Keywords: biogas plants, attitude, renewable energy, rural households

Volume: 41

Issue: 2

Year: June 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56572/gjoee.2026.41.2.0018

Abstract: Biogas technology has emerged as a viable renewable energy option that supports sustainable agriculture, enhances rural energy availability and contributes to environmental conservation. The present investigation was conducted to examine the attitude of biogas beneficiaries towards biogas plants and to determine the factors influencing their attitudes. An ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study and primary data were collected from 100 biogas plant beneficiaries through personal interviews using structured and pre-tested interview schedule. The results indicated that a majority of the respondents revealed favourable attitude towards biogas plants, while a considerable proportion demonstrated a highly favourable attitude. Correlation analysis revealed that education, occupation, annual income, animal possession, access to credit, economic motivation and knowledge regarding biogas plants were positively and significantly related to the respondents' attitudes towards biogas technology. Further, stepwise regression analysis showed that four variables-education (? = 0.309), annual income (? = 0.307), economic motivation (? = 0.252) and age (? = 0.250) were significant predictors of farmers' attitudes towards biogas plants. The coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.289) indicated that these variables collectively accounted for 28.90 per cent of the total variation in attitude. The findings underscore the crucial role of socio-economic characteristics, motivational factors and technological awareness in influencing farmers' perceptions of biogas technology. Therefore, efforts aimed at improving educational levels, facilitating access to financial support and increasing awareness about the economic and environmental benefits of biogas plants may help develop more positive attitudes among biogas beneficiaries and encourage wider adoption of biogas technology for sustainable rural and agricultural development.