An Assessment of Livelihood Security Based on Biogas Plants in Punjab

A survey was conducted in selected villages of district Patiala for assessment of livelihood security of rural households based on biogas plants. A questionnaire was developed in order to collect information related to farmland holding, biogas plant installed or not, its type, size etc., number of cattle heads, types of fuel used in a kitchen, usage of biogas for kitchen and other purposes. The socio-economic considerations like fuel savings, household income from different sources, cost of living, and use of biogas plant slurry as manure and impacts of biogas plant usage at domestic level in terms of greenhouse gas emission reduction were also noted. Forty five farming households were surveyed in 15 villages of different blocks of the district. It was found that average members in the family were 5 and the average cultivable land was 9.77 acre. The income of the surveyed households was found to vary from `250000 to 2750000. The average annual cost of living of households with and without biogas plants were `167911 and `183520. In addition, there were a total annual savings of `11095 of households having biogas plants, in terms of fuel wood (1380 kg) and LPG cylinders (9) savings. However, no comparative savings were found in using biogas plant slurry as manure compared to dung usage as farmyard manure in fields of surveyed farms, whereas, the farmers prevented the emission of methane (1074 kg) and ammonia (751 kg) from open disposal of cattle dung on average per year in comparison to households without biogas plants.