EN
The scale of bankruptcies and business failures aggravates during the economic crisis. This phenomenon is also observed in the agribusiness sector. Agribusiness characteristics - unique for this subset of the economy - determine not only their specificity, but also the propensity of economic operators to develop and fail in this environment. The properties of agribusiness can either catalyze or inhibit liquidation of the business operator. The primary goal of the paper was to identify the role of the state as regards counteracting crisis-related phenomena as compared to the self-regulating market mechanism. The article presents threats and barriers to the development of agricultural biogas plants using a PESTLE analysis. The research identified high expenditures and the long investment period as principal factors of risk of bankruptcy of agricultural biogas plants. The correct location of an agricultural biogas plant is also very important, that is whether is it located near the source of raw material for the production of biogas and a consumer of heat. The bankruptcy of a biogas plant entails job cuts and an increase in unemployment in rural areas, thus there is room for the role of the state to develop institutional and financial instruments that would make it possible to counteract/reduce these adverse social phenomena.