The Ministry of Water, Irrigation & Electricity (MoWIE) has unveiled the second phase of a biogas dissemination upscale program in eight regional states, with a fund of 582 million Br from the European Union (EU) and the government coffer. The program aims at improving the living standards of beneficiaries by reducing carbon emissions in the environment.
The project, which is also known as National Biogas Program of Ethiopia Phase II, was officially launched in collaboration with the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) on May 31, 2017, at Elily International Hotel.
Minister of MoWIE, Seleshi Bekele (PhD), Chantal Hebberecht, head of the European Union Delegation to Ethiopia, and Worku Behonegne, country director of SNV Ethiopia, were present during the launching ceremony.
The Ministry is tasked to overlook the project in partnership with SNV, an organisation founded in the Netherlands half a century ago. SNV has been in Ethiopia for the past four decades, working in the energy, water sanitation, hygiene and agriculture sectors. It is responsible for providing technical support to the staff of regional offices of Water Resources, Mines and Energy during the implementation of the project.
The European Union (EU) covers 91.1pc of the project while the rest is financed by the government. The Ministry of Finance & Economic Cooperation (MoFEC) and the EU signed an agreement to finance the project a year ago on June 28, 2016.
Previously, the first phase benefited about 15,550 households in four regional states including Amhara, Tigray, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples’ regional states.
During the implementation of the Phase I project, each family received 6,300 Br to buy one biodigester, a tank which processes animal waste and converts it to biogas fuel. The project was funded by the African Biogas Partnership Program. The partnership program also has a presence in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burkina Faso.
The current program is expected to raise the number of regions which the biogas program covers to eight, adding Afar, Somali, Benshangul and Gambella regional states onto the list.
The project, staying for the next five years, targets to provide 36,000 biodigesters with almost half of the cost financed by the EU, whose size is ranging from four to 10 cubic metres. And, as a pilot project, enterprises, dairy farms, schools and any interested entities will also receive 40 large sized biodigesters with similar arrangements.
Any households that want to benefit from the newly launched project must meet certain criteria including the ownership of at least four cattle, enough space for the biogas development and water supply, according to Saroj Rai, team leader of the biogas project in Ethiopia at SNV.
Upon fulfilling these criteria, the households will receive 6,300 Br to buy the biodigesters, accounting for half the cost of purchasing the machine and an additional 700 Br is given to every household in kind.
Credit opportunities are also set up in collaboration with micro financial institutions, whose number has reached 35 in the country.
“We arranged this to enable families who cannot afford it to cover the remaining price of the biodigesters,” said Rai.
The biodigester also has multiple uses.
“The final waste of the biogas will be used as an organic fertiliser,” said Temesgen Tefera, programme manager of the National Biogas Program at MoWIE. “It can keep the fertility of the soil for more than three years.”
The biogas sector in Ethiopia began with the launch of the National Domestic Biogas program nine years ago. This has led to the dissemination of thousands of biodigesters mainly in rural parts of the country, where electricity coverage is no more than 12.2pc.
The new EU-funded program comes as the country is struggling to provide about 90pc of electricity coverage in the next three years. As of now, the grid coverage stands at 55pc, but only 30 percent of the population has direct access to electrical power due to the weak transmission system.
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