Biomass to Biochar Conversion for Agricultural and Environmental Applications in Nigeria: Challenges, Peculiarities and Prospects

Abstract

Agriculture is an important aspect of the lifestyle in rural areas and the role of agricultural resources in sustainable development in Nigeria has been positively established. Due to the availability of a rich tropical rainforest in Nigeria, biomass resources are abundant. These biomasses have been evaluated for the production of biochar for agricultural and environmental protection applications. In this mini-review, the authors discuss the recent research effort that has been conducted on the conversion of biomass to biochar in the Nigerian context in the past 2 years. This focus was based on location as the nature and type of biomass available for conversion would be inherently different than for other locations. Furthermore, the nature of agricultural practice is also different hence there will be peculiarities in the way the biochar can be utilized. The challenges and peculiarities are due to a general lack of investment and neglect by stakeholders, and un-empowered youthful population and a lack of awareness of research findings by potential investors and farmers. Modern agricultural practice like mechanization and the use of agrochemicals is still not quite popular in remote locations. This suggests that biochar technologies suitable for such locations would need to be developed to help improve productivity. This discussion is quite important as it comes at a time when a concerted effort is being made by the country to achieve sustainable development through agriculture and reduce reliance on oil revenue.