Building a Sustainable Market for Biodigesters in Vietnam – SNV World/EnDev

Since 2003, SNVWorld, with funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGIS), have been working to develop the biogas and biodigester sector in Vietnam. SNV to date have been providing technical assistance and developing financial capacity in conjunction with the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the Department of Livestock Production under the MARD acting as the implementing partner for the project. Vietnam is particularly suitable for the development of biodigester technology, given the high prevalence of livestock farming and the large heads of animals present in the country. In 2016, over 26 million pigs were raised in the country, and utilising the waste products from this livestock farming can provide significant benefits to the economy, as well as sustainability objectives. As of March 2017, the project has installed over 150,000 biodigesters in the country, with a further 80,000 having been installed under spin-off projects implemented by the MARD.

The project has not only focused on installations, but has sought to develop the capacity for a functional, self-sustaining market for biodigester technology in the country. To that end, as of March 2017 the project has created over 2,500 new jobs in rural areas of the country, and trained over 1,700 masons in the construction of biodigesters. The consumer-side has also been targeted by the project, with over 160,000 households receiving both pre-installation training on the use of biodigesters, and post-installation training on the maintenance of the digester chamber and the use of bio-slurry in agricultural applications.

Dome-type biodigester in rural Vietnam. Image: SNVWorld

One of the innovative measures used to assist in developing a sustainable biogas sector in the country was implemented by the NGO EnDev in partnership with SNVWorld and the MARD. The NGO has recently implemented a Results-Based Financing (RBF) scheme in the country to promote the acceleration of biodigester construction, through empowering the supply-side of the biogas market to keep up with demand through subsidy. A financial incentive is provided for the construction and verification of each new biodigester, starting at US$50 for each new digester and falling over time. The intention is that the suppliers who receive this incentive can then reinvest the extra income in attracting more staff and scaling their businesses. The verification system is implemented through a novel online application developed in partnership with SNVWorld and AVKO, combining input data, photos and GPS locations translated to maps that are automatically updated with new information from the field. This system has replaced the traditional hard-copy form submission system for verification of new installations, streamlining the process for both EnDev and installers. The system is currently in use by 146 active installers in 18 provinces in Vietnam, and to date has verified over 35,000 biodigester installations.

In terms of capacity-building, SNV are currently partnering with MARD to continue the training of government installation and verification partners to build capacity in the biodigester sector, in an effort to better support a viable, private-sector supply and distribution market. Government technicians are also being trained in communicating about benefits of biogas technology, supporting enterprises in identifying suitable households and providing them with extension services on the use of bio-slurry.

– Daniel Kerr, UCL

References

SNVWorld (2018) Vietnam Biodigester Programme. Available at: http://www.snv.org/project/vietnam-biogas-programme [Accessed 11^th March 2018]

Teune (2017) Igniting a Self-Sustaining Biogas Market in Vietnam. Available at: http://www.snv.org/update/igniting-self-sustaining-biogas-market-vietnam [Accessed 11^th March 2018]

Taita Taveta County, Kenya – Biogas Partnership for Farming Communities

Taita Taveta county lies approximately 150km northeast of Mombasa and 300km southeast of Nairobi in Kenya. Residents of Wundanyi subcounty were approached in 2013 by a newly-formed NGO, Taita Biogas, to pilot new biogas installations, due to the high prevalence of cattle farming in the region. This gives ready availability for high-quality feedstock for biogas digesters in the form of cattle manure. To date, the NGO has installed over 600 household-scale biodigesters in the country, and has completed two institutional biodigesters for schools in the region, with a third under construction. These institutional-scale installations will use human and food wastes as feedstock rather than cattle wastes.

The business model for the NGO provides an opportunity for consumers who would not be able to afford a biodigester installation outright to install a system. Taita Biogas covers half of the cost of installation, and also arranges contractors to construct and commission the system. The households then pay the remaining amount for installation, usually in the region of KSh145,000 (GBP1,035). In recent years the NGO has expanded operations through partnership with the Micro Enterprise Support Project, another Kenyan NGO supporting farmers venturing into macadamia nut and French bean farming. Whilst this partnership has not been successful to date, due to MESP pulling out in 2017, a new partnership with the organisation is to be formed with additional funding, and a loan finance option provided through the MESP to members for biogas installations.

Household biodigester user Honorata Nyange cleaning utensils at her Lushangonyi home in Taita Taveta County, Kenya. Photo/Malemba Mkongo, star.co.ke

There are a range of benefits available to the farmers who have installed these biogas systems, as well as the institutional-scale digesters installed by regional schools. Households have reported a huge reduction in the amount of money and time invested in collecting firewood and purchasing charcoal, and the institutional users have reported a 50% reduction in the cost of purchasing firewood for cooking since installation of the digesters. In addition, this scheme is innovative in that householders are coordinating with the NGO to apply for regulatory permission from the Energy Commission of Kenya to bottle and sell biogas on the local market, as self-producers. Biogas sells for comparable prices to natural gas on the Kenya market (KSh200/kg (GBP1.43/kg), compared to KSh175-250 (GBP1.25-1.78/kg) for natural gas), and should regulatory permission be granted, these biogas installations have the potential to become an additional revenue stream for the farmers. Finally, household users have reported significant improvements in both cooking quality and ease of use when using biogas compared to firewood or charcoal, with a reduction in combustion residues and ease of lighting when using biogas as a fuel source.

The NGO is currently expanding its operations both on a geographical and technology-focused scale. As well as its operations in Kenya, the NGO is conducting feasibility studies for joint biogas/solar photovoltaic/solar water heater applications in Ethiopia, as well as local training workshops in partnership with an Ethiopian NGO, MCMDO-REESDE, for solar water heating technology, both in terms of installation and local construction.

– Daniel Kerr, UCL

References

Star.co.ke (2017) Taita Taveta Dumps Firewood for Biogas. Available at: https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2018/02/12/taita-taveta-dumps-firewood-for-biogas_c1707691 [Accessed 10th March 2018]

Taita Biogas (2018) What We Do. Available at: http://biogas-taita.de/home.php [Accessed 10th March 2018]