Biochar: Biomass Charcoal for Soil improvement

Biochar, a powerfully circular way to fight climate change

Biochar technology is a form of charcoal. It is made through a process called pyrolysis which involves burning of biomass in an oven with little or no oxygen. What you get out of it is solid material which then is added into soil. Under the right circumstances, biochar provides a unique opportunity to sequester carbon and improve soil quality by using locally sourced resources, and even a single application can provide benefits for years

This technology is validated.

8•7

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 7/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive high

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: Much less carbon released

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Soil quality: Improves soil health and fertility

Water use: Much less water used

Problem

Widespread soil degradation: Over 40% of soils in Africa have poor structure and nutrient levels, undermining national food production and land productivity.
Harmful residue burning practices: Many farmers burn crop residues to clear land and control pests, but this traditional method releases greenhouse gases, destroys soil organic matter, and weakens soil structure.
Low agricultural productivity: Degraded soils and inefficient practices result in consistently low yields, threatening food security and farmer incomes.
Soil erosion and nutrient loss: Fragile soils are easily eroded, and applied nutrients often leach away, reducing the effectiveness of national investments in agriculture.
High dependency on conventional fertilisers: Fertilisers are costly, and their overuse or misuse can further degrade the environment while burdening national subsidy programs.
Underutilized agricultural waste: Valuable organic residues are often burned or discarded, missing opportunities for circular and climate-smart agriculture.
Unsustainable land use: Short-term coping strategies like burning and over-tilling exhaust the land, pushing communities toward marginal, less-productive areas.
Limited climate action in agriculture: Current farming practices contribute to emissions but offer little toward national climate mitigation commitments.

Solution

Reduces fertiliser dependency: Improves nutrient retention, lowering long-term use of costly chemical fertilisers.
Improves national food security: Field trials show 15–35% yield increases in staple crops like maize and rice after just one application.
Supports drought resilience: Biochar retains moisture, helping crops survive dry spells—vital under changing climate conditions.
Restores degraded soils: Enhances soil structure and fertility, contributing to long-term land restoration goals.
Reduces environmental degradation: Limits residue burning and sequesters carbon, reducing emissions and deforestation pressure.
Boosts rural livelihoods: Farmers in Kenya are already earning additional income through carbon credit markets.
Provides lasting impact: One application continues to benefit farmers across multiple growing seasons.

Key points to design your project

Biochar technology offers governments a practical tool for improving smallholder livelihoods, especially for women, by enhancing soil fertility, crop yields, and resilience to climate change. It also supports energy efficiency and sustainable land use.

To integrate biochar into national projects or strategies:

Promote biochar under regenerative agriculture and climate-smart farming programs.
Incorporate biochar into carbon-credit schemes to create market incentives and attract private investment in biochar production.
Support the development of local training hubs where farmers learn to produce biochar and connect with carbon-credit buyers.
Partner with cooperatives and agricultural institutions to scale adoption, especially in vulnerable rural areas.
Facilitate access to equipment by supporting procurement and delivery of small-scale pyrolysis units (e.g. 500 kg/hr units available in Nigeria).
Ensure budget allocation for training, farmer outreach, and monitoring of long-term soil and climate benefits.

305 USD

For 500 Kg capacity

5—10 Tones

Recommended Biochar quantity for 1 hectare

IP

Open source / open access

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Benin	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Nigeria	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 1: no poverty

Goal 3: good health and well-being

Goal 13: climate action

Goal 15: life on land

For more effectiveness and rapid activation,

Mix biochar with organic manure or compost and incorporate it into the soil during land preparation.
Frequency of application: Due to its gradual process in decomposing in soil, single applications of biochar can provide beneficial effects over several growing seasons in the field.
Therefore, biochar does not need to be applied with each crop, as is usually the case for manures, compost, and synthetic fertilizers.

Biochar is great stuff but it can be dangerous to you and your crops. Therefore, Keep your biochar wet – the tiny particles can get in your lungs and cause cancer
Never put biochar in your soil immediately after making it.

Biochar is very powerful if you use too much you risk:
• Locking up the nitrogen in your soil
• Locking up any chemical fertilizers you are using
• Locking up any pesticides and herbicides you are using

Materials and Equipment

Drum
Duct tube
Ignition cone
Feed stalk (e.g., rice husk, wood, shavings or other crop residues)
Ignition material
Water
Nylon/leather
Rope

Rice Husk Biochar Production Procedure

Feed the ignition material into the ignition cone
Insert the cone into the drum
Fill the drum with the feed stalk
Ignite the material inside the cone
Insert the duct tube into the ignition cone and confirm the smoke is escaping through the pipe
After 3-4 hrs stir the rice husk with the formed biochar
Fill the drum with the rice husk to the brim
After 1-2 hrs wet the duct tube with water and remove
Shut the air/oxygen by covering the drum with leather
Leave it in this condition until the next day
The biochar is ready to be activated with compost or compost tea