## 2 Methodology  
### Study Region  
In Ecuador, the combined cultivation of coffee and cocoa in the NEA has been identified as a sustainable farming activity that allows smallholders to balance the price volatility associated with these commodities. In the NEA, 60% of farms include both of these crops, while 32% have only cocoa and 3% have only coffee [5]. Accordingly, this study draws on participative observations performed in four farmers' cooperatives located in the NEA that process cocoa and coffee. The four farmers cooperatives that are part of this study are shown in Figure 1, namely, the Asociacion de Producteres de Cafe Ecologico Lago Agrio APROCEL (0\({}^{\circ}\)09\({}^{\prime}\)21.1\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N 76\({}^{\circ}\)50\({}^{\prime}\)47.8\({}^{\prime\prime}\) W), the Federation de Organizaciones Compeinsias de Shushufindi FOCASH (0\({}^{\circ}\)10\({}^{\prime}\)53.1\({}^{\prime\prime}\) S 76\({}^{\circ}\)40\({}^{\prime}\)05.4\({}^{\prime\prime}\) W), the Asociacion Arrasional de Producteres de Cafe de Dureno y Pacayacu, AGRODUP (0\({}^{\circ}\)03\({}^{\prime}\)31.2\({}^{\prime\prime}\) N 76\({}^{\circ}\)41\({}^{\prime}\)54.8\({}^{\prime\prime}\) W), and the Asociacion de Producteres de Cafe y Cacao del Eno APROCCE (0\({}^{\circ}\)01\({}^{\prime}\)48.5\({}^{\prime\prime}\) S 76\({}^{\circ}\)53\({}^{\prime}\)08.9\({}^{\prime\prime}\) W). These four farmers' cooperatives belong to an informal local network of cooperatives that is currently supported by the European Committee for Training and Agriculture (CEFA). CEFA identifies these cooperatives as formal economic entities with a high degree of organizational maturity. The maturity of these cooperatives as selection criteria was determined by their age (between 15 and 17 years) and their formal registration in the Superintendence of the People's Solidarity Economy and the national tax service. CEFA introduced us to the leaders of these cooperatives. Thus, the post-harvesting operations and the potential heterogeneity in post-harvesting practices, along with differences in the management of agricultural waste between cooperatives, were characterized through field visits and open interviews with the president of each organization and the operational staff of each collection and processing center. The data gathered in the field visits (field notes and photograph registers) were later analyzed by the authors in the capital city of Quito through group meetings. Figure 1: Location in the northern part of the Ecuadorian Amazon of the four farmer cooperatives studied: (1) APROCEL; (2) FOCASH; (3) AGRODUP; (4) APROC. Criteria and Outline Conditions to Analyze the Adaptability of Pyrolysis Technology within the Farmers' Cooperatives  
There is no policy framework in place for Ecuador to regulate the production and use of biochar. Therefore, the potential integration of pyrolysis technology within post-harvesting facilities located in NEA was discussed using the European guidelines for the sustainable production of biochar as a reference [28]. Table 1 summarizes the outline conditions and the exclusion criteria used to assess the technological alternatives disclosed in research articles and technical reports (i.e., pyrolysis reactors, furnaces, retorts, and kilns used to produce biochar). The databases consulted to explore the availability and characteristics of the different types of pyrolysis technologies were ScienceDirect, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and ResearchGate. Pyrolysis systems that use agricultural waste as feedstock to produce bio-oil (fast pyrolysis) or syngas as a chemical feedstock for downstream processes (e.g., hydrogen or methanol production) have not been considered in the context of biochar production in the studied farmers' cooperatives. Policy Analysis: Existing Laws Governing the Energy Conversion of Agricultural Waste in Farmers' Cooperatives of Ecuador  
To perform the policy analysis, searches were made of the Official Registry, which is the dissemination organ of the Ecuadorian Government that publishes legal regulations [30].