Smallholder livestock systems support: Experiences from the National Biogas Program of Ethiopia (NBPE)

Smallholder Livestock Systems Support: Experiences
from the National Biogas Program of Ethiopia (NBPE)
Alemayehu T
Conference on Policies for Competitive Smallholder Livestock Production
Gaborone, Botswana, 4-6 March 2015

Introduction
Over 88% of all citizens in Ethiopia rely on
biomass fuel for cooking and lighting.
About77% of agricultural families having
cattle.
therefore, many Ethiopians are eligible for
biogas installation.

To promote the uptake of domestic biogas,
since 2008, The National Biogas Programme of
Ethiopia (NBPE) is developed to disseminate
domestic biogas and develop a commercially
viable market biogas sector in four selected
regions in Ethiopia.
Cont…

98
30
731
1,643
2,509
3,150
2,517
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Cont…
Digesters built since 2008

Biogas products and Bio-Slurry

Bio‐slurry application at farm level

NBPE- Goal & Objectives
 The overall goal of NBPE is to improve the livelihood
and quality of life of rural households through the
exploitation of market and non-market benefits of
domestic biogas.
 This is realised through replacement of
unsustainable utilization of wood and charcoal for
cooking and lighting; the application of high-value
organic fertilizer from the bio-slurry; and
improvement of the overall economic situation of
rural households.

A second phase will allow exploiting the experience
gained during the 1st phase and increase the number
of bio digesters built during phase I with an
additional 20,000 bio-digesters to be constructed
during the period 2014-2017.
The key result of the program will be 20,000 biogas
plants installed, building on the achievements in
Phase I.
Expected Results

About 120,000 beneficiaries will be expected form
phase II.
This will yield an estimated energy production of
92,000MWh and a GHG emission reduction of
80,000 tCO2eq.
Generate substantial income opportunities for local
companies, masons and financial institutions,
especially in rural and peri-urban areas.
Cont…

The programme will look for an increasingly market driven
sector, in which the private sector will play a more active
role in the development of the sector.
Amulti-stakeholder approach will remain an important
strategic element involving besides government
institutions on national, regional and local level.
Increasing affordability of the bio digester technology
will remain a key attention point for the programme and
striving for cost reductions during the 2nd phase.
Strategic Orientation

CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED
Better integration between livestock and crops by use
of bio-slurry as organic fertilizer.
 Better maintenance of biogas units, limited technical
skill especially at Woreda (district) levels
Less commitment of some stakeholders than expected.
 Absence of organized biogas construction enterprises
low involvement of the private sector in the programme.
NBPE will also address the following challenges
encountered during the first phase:

There are many different NGOs in the country
already promoting biogas, however they tend
to focus on the health and labour benefits of
replacing firewood, charcoal and dried manure
with CH4 from biogas.
However, the potential for leaks and poor
slurry management that can result in increased
SLCPs and other GHG emissions were ignored.
Strategic Action

small-scale biodigester may become large sources of
CH4 if not properly maintained and the slurry from
these digesters may emit SLCPs and lose value as a
fertilizer if not properly stored and applied to fields.
Building capacity in digester maintenance and slurry
management and helping frame policies will lead to a
reduction in SLCPs from these bio-digesters and
improve nutrient losses from farms.
Cont…

Therefore, the project has partnered with
the International Livestock Research
Institute(ILRI) to promote knowledge
transfer between stakeholders and to involve
policy makers from a broader scope in
creating a more consistent policy environment
to enable a sustainable use of biogas units by
smallholder livestock farmers.
Cont…

Smallholder livestock systems support: Experiences from the National Biogas Program of Ethiopia (NBPE)

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