Publications

In West Africa, domestic investors acquire plots of farm land using their connections, powers and resources. Some policy makers view these investments as a shift towards agribusiness and state that these “new actors” will modernise and professionalize farming and smallholders are asked to make space. Who are those new actors, how did they obtain the land, under what conditions, and how are they investing? Why are authorities engaging in these land transactions and what are the consequences for local farming, rural livelihoods and the environment? This paper presents results of a 2010 survey on the acquisition of rural land by agro-investors in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. It explores implications for agricultural “modernisation” and discusses local responses to regulate this phenomenon.

This analysis provides useful insights on (cow) milk value chain in Zinder region.

This report presents the findings of a study conducted Nov-Dec 2012, in the traditional cattle keeping areas of Zambia. The focus on the study was on untapped milk originating from the traditional cattle sector, with the aim of ensuring a stable and reliable supply for processors in Zambia and an income to smallholder farmers. The overall objective was to provide a solid basis for making informed decisions about interventions in the traditional/smallholder dairy sub-sector related to improving production, animal husbandry practices and milk marketing. The study demonstrates that traditional cattle farmers can supply a substantial amount of milk to support demand in the country, as well as enhance the utilisation capacity of milk processors. Information from the report will be useful for NGOs, the Zambian government and donors, as it enables to identify gaps in the value chain which they can strengthen, and support income generation.

Key findings of the research: confirmed that Ethiopian MFIs are highly dependent on fund from external sources and they will find it difficult to extend loan for biogas user while satisfying the current financial need of their clientele; they also lack human resource capacity to participate in the NBP; they exhibited low level application of modern technologies such as MIS as a result of their limited financial capacity; majority of the MFIs are not aware of biogas technology and its benefit to the society, the environment and the business opportunity for their own organisation provided through new loan product; even if there is lack of proper infrastructure which could result in higher interest rate for rural households compensating the resulting higher transaction cost, MFIs are not charging rural clients higher interest rate, they rather vary the interest rate based on the lending methodology, the type of loan products and repayment period which is the same for all rural, semi-urban and urban clients.

Main conclusions: without building their financial, human resource and institutional capacity, with their current limited capacity Ethiopia MFIs will find it difficult to participate in NBP; lack of awareness about biogas lead MFIs to think that providing loan for biogas user is a risky business and they put forward a number of pre-requisites and additional guarantee requirements for biodigesters for the sake of their own security; lack of awareness found out to be a low level problem that could be addressed by continuous training and awareness raising campaigns.

An energy transition is required in Tanzania. Household energy needs are currently largely met by unsustainable wood fuel resources and many households experience energy poverty. The traditional strategies to introduce modern energy are slow and unable to reach households in inaccessible and poor areas. 

To make an energy transition and to meet the energy demand in Tanzania in a sustainable way solar PV (photovoltaic), improved cook stoves (ICS) and biogas technologies were selected based on the appropriateness of the technologies in rural Tanzania and their sector development.

Moreover this study shows that sustainable energy provision requires a sector of independent enterprises that own the capacity to provide these appropriate energy technologies. Cluster strategies promote the development of groups of such enterprises. The institutional setting for such cluster strategies was found to rely on civil society organizations, mainly because the representation of the rural energy topic on the local level by district governments and public agencies is virtually absent. 

Based on the research in Tanzania inceptive cluster strategies are reported and five types of cluster promotion are categorised. The research results point to cluster promotion through existing value chains as currently the most suitable strategy for achieving this goal. In rural Tanzania it makes economic sense to use the limited infrastructure to integrate energy provision and appropriate energy enterprises with existing business activities, such as diary and Jatropha production. The crux is to create the right institutional setting to develop the mutual benefits of sustainable energy provision for households and enterprises.

The study identifies the following challenges faced by cattle trade in WCA : (i) Securing regional cattle trade within a rather unpredictable global setting (ii) Satisfy the dynamic regional demand through domestic production (iii) Reduce persisting bureaucratic hardship (iv) Improve the organisation of the regional cattle trade while taking into account the strengths of the traditional set-up (v) Improve the governance of local cattle markets (vi) Improve the position of small-scale pastoralists within the value chain (Study in French).

This report is one of a series of country feasibility studies promoted by the “Biogas for Better Life: An African Initiative”. It analyses the opportunities and constraints on biogas development in Kenya. The study provides a history of biogas in Kenya and overviews three biogas technologies, the floating drum, fixed dome, and plastic tubular digesters. The feasibility of biogas promotion is explored in relation to existing and potential biogas consumers.

The report concludes that there is technical potential for domestic biogas in at least 35 districts in Kenya. Further, there is potential to develop a biogas market in Kenya with several institutions currently working on biogas. The financial and institutional analysis demonstrates the relatively unattractive investment framework for individual farmers for the current product market combinations of 16m3 biogas systems.

There are several financial products available for households wishing to invest in biogas through institutions like KUSCCO, and a range of microfinance institutions who are able to offer non-biogas specific financial products.

Affordability, accessibility of fuel, functionality and aesthetics are the primary factors considered by people in the choice of cooking device bought and used.

Fixed dome systems have advantages in terms of cost (including maintenance), space, aesthetic appeal relative to floating drum systems, but there are not enough technicians trained on the construction of fixed dome biogas systems, and quality controls and after sales support is fragmented and variable. The marketing plan specifies the volume of training and support necessary to support companies to actively promote biogas in Kenya.

The National Biogas Programme (NBP) in Ethiopia has set the goal to install 14,000 domestic biogas plants within a 5 year period and attach toilets to at least 50% of the installations to improve health conditions. The construction and connection of toilets to domestic biogas plants have many benefits and attaching toilets should be based on the biogas user’s willingness. Physical obstacles are associated with physical or chemical changes to the methanogenesis process or the effluent; and to health risks, which will increase with the introduction of human excreta as substrate. Non-physical obstacles are presumably related to social, cultural, religious or economic issues.

This study aims to widen the understanding of obstacles and incentives concerning the integration of sanitation to domestic biogas plants in Ethiopia by investigating biogas users’ conceptions and attitudes. Urban or rural conditions, occupation, income and other family conditions may be important as well as agricultural conditions, geographical conditions, and cultural and religious backgrounds. The study also gives a brief description of the physical prerequisites such as the effects on the methanogenesis process and the prerequisites for utilization of slurry. A qualitative case study methodology including the use of a semi-constructed interview form and a simple attitude measurements questionnaire was applied for research in field; and nine in-depth interviews with both rural and urban biogas users were conducted in different regions in Ethiopia.

Summary of a desk and field study done by IRAM, with as main objective “to assess the SNV positioning choices in relation to its contribution to food security and -sovereignty in West and Central Africa countries”. Results were: Definition of key issues in food security for vulnerable actors; Establishment of relation between SNV position choices and food security strategies for vulnerable actors; Mapping of both successful household and community strategies as well as government policies securing access to food, which are relevant for SNV; Development of an analytical tool that can be used to measure the contribution/impacts on food security and food sovereignty. 

This report presents a desk study conducted in 2008 of the biogas potential in Benin. The energy situation in Benin is in serious need of action: the dependency on sources that are external and subject to seasonal and climate-related variations needs to be reduced urgently: commercial energy is almost entirely imported and is for the most part generated by hydroelectric systems.

Biogas is one of the options and it is identified as such in policy documents, although it seems to be seen as a solution for institutional and commercial users (service sector) in the first place and rather for generating electricity than for cooking.

The technology of biogas production has been introduced in Benin at least as early as the 80s. The various attempts have not been successful with the sole exception of the units installed by the Centre Songhaï on their integrated farm in Porto Novo.

The present desk study concludes that it is necessary to carry out additional field research in order to get reliable information about the number of households that have access to the required inputs on a daily and year-round basis. This research is to be carried out in selected communes of the Borgou, Alibori, Atacora and Donga departments where the largest numbers of cattle are found but where traditional transhumance practice is or was also most prevalent. Some communes of the Oueme and Plateau departments will also be included, because semi-zero grazing is practised in those areas although on a small scale only.

Agro-dealers are a inportant agriculture value chain actors. It is apparent that agro-dealers have an important part to play in input and output marketing. Agro-dealers are not novices in input and output marketing. However, agro-dealers are not a homogeneous group. They do have varying interest and capacities. Some are more inclined towards grocery marketing while others are general dealers; some are interested in transporting grain produce than purchasing and bulking. These capacities have to be developed and spread throughout the districts so as to maximise the potential of the value chains.

This report tries to profile the agro-dealers in the Mashonaland West and Central provinces of Zimbabwe so as to understand their positioning in the agriculture value chain.