Social acceptability of bioenergy cashew nut shells in agro-industries: Evidence from Burkina Faso for sustainable energy policy in Africa

Bioenergy valorization from agro-industrial biomass, particularly cashew nut shells, is increasingly adopted by agro-industries in West Africa as a strategy for waste management and energy supply. However, its long-term sustainability critically depends on social acceptability within local communities exposed to its environmental and economic impacts. Despite the rapid expansion of this practice, empirical evidence on its social acceptability in African agro-industrial contexts remains limited. This research investigates the key factors influencing acceptability among local populations, based on original field evidence from Burkina Faso. It combines a household survey (n = 320, margin of error = 4.20%) with a multidimensional modelling framework. Social acceptability is first measured using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), to calculate an individual social acceptability score, then analysed through a fractional logit model to identify its main determinants. Results show that access to information about cashew nutshell energy valorization (p < 0.001), perception of smoke emissions (p < 0.001), and economic incentives (p< 0.001) are the main factors drivers of social acceptability. The type of combustion technology also has a significant effect (p < 0.05), while gender and site location (p < 0.10) moderately influence contextual factors on acceptability. By integrating social perceptions with econometric modelling of acceptability, this study provides new empirical evidence on how technological, environmental and institutional factors jointly shape community support for agro-industrial bioenergy in Africa. These findings highlight the need for energy policies that go beyond technical efficiency by prioritizing transparency, emission-reducing technologies and inclusive economic benefits to ensure socially sustainable bioenergy transitions.