Publications

The ‘biogas user survey’ is an annual and very important chain in the series of events in monitoring and control used by the project.

The objectives of this survey are:

• To assess the level of satisfaction of the biogas Users in terms of the benefits and the functioning of the biogas plants and the outcome of installing biogas on household in relation to energy, health and sanitation, agricultural productivity, socio-economic condition, environment and gender;
• To provide staff with hands on experience of carrying out the Biogas User’s Survey in order to gain insights that will be required to facilitate similar exercise which will be outsourced in the subsequent years;
• To make recommendations for the improvement of the programme performance in coming years.

The survey covered all biogas plants that were operating for 3 months or older. An extensive questionnaire was the main tool used for the survey and was the basis for the household interviews (see annex 2).

In general the construction quality of the plants was satisfactory which was also indicated by the proper functioning of the plant and resulting user satisfaction. 94% of the plants were fully or partly functional and not much of maintenance was carried out on them. Still indication so far is that households are experiencing time and money saved from the use of biogas. Although biogas is not completely replacing the use of firewood and LPG, a significant amount of cash savings is being realised where biogas has largely replaced firewood.

SNV Netherlands Development Organizationand Winrock International are providing technical support for launching a national level Pakistan Domestic Bio-gas Program (PDBP) in Pakistan through the Rural Support Program Network (RSPN). Over a period of four years the program targets to construct 30,000 domestic bio-gas plants. RSPN contracted SEBCON to carry out the Energy Utilization of Demand Baseline Amount in order to understand the energy demand and utilization pattern of rural farmers, the projects economic and social impacts, to estimate the impact of the project as economic and social indicators to enable it to measure the market and non-market benefits of domestic gas.

The socio-economic profile of the surveyed areas has been drawn from primary data collected through key informants at the village and household levels. The report presents findings on the following indicators: Socio-economic indicators (income & expenditure / education / health & sanitation), Demographic indicators, Infrastructure, Gender, Energy-sources, and Livestock/Agriculture. The survey was conducted in Faisalabad and Vehari districts of the Punjab province and a total of 21 villages were surveyed.

A collaborative study was conducted by Soil Chemistry Section, Institute of Soil Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute Faisalabad and Pakistan Domestic Biogas Program (PDBP)/Rural Support Programs’ Network (RSPN) to evaluate the use of bio slurry, a by-product of bio gas plant for vegetable production.

Bio-slurry is a thick liquid that comes out of the biogas plant outlet and then flows into the slurry pits. As the slurry is ejected after a period of anaerobic digestion within the plant digester (about 50 days), thus, the slurry is sanitised, disinfected and turn the nutrients in more available form to plants. Therefore relative to farm yard manure which is normally piled up in the yard and less decomposed, bio-slurry contains readily available plant nutrients. A farming household who owns a biogas plant will have an advantage of a continuous supply of high quality manure for his crops.

According to MOU signed by both the organizations, the RSPN provided the financial assistant while Soil Chemistry Section conducted the research experiments at two locations i.e. at Soil Chemistry Section and at farmer’s filed to evaluate the use of bio-slurry for vegetable production.

The study was conducted with the following objectives:

1. The use of bio-slurry for vegetable production.

2. Comparison of bio-slurry with conventional use of farm yard manure.

3. Integrated use of chemical fertilisers with bio-slurry to reduce the cost of production and to protect the environment from pollution caused by the chemical fertiliser.

Programme implementation document for a national programme on domestic biogas dissemination in Pakistan (2008).

This study examines the different technological, organizational, institutional aspects of the implementation
plan prepared for the National Domestic Biogas Programme (NDBP) after the feasibility study determined the potential for domestic biogas sector in Pakistan as very high. The Rural Support Programme was the main implementation partner at the demand side, along with NGOs, farmers’ and dairy organizations, while private Biogas Construction Enterprises (BCEs) were the key players on the supply side. Study findings indicated that the total costs of the programme amounted to €28 million. To cover the budget, funds from the government of Pakistan and investors were required.

Specific objectives and future action steps pertaining to ten critical areas have been designed and thoroughly explained in the report. Some of the main references included financing, where an investment rebate, credit, and carbon revenue were to be utilized. Research and development efforts were aimed at
increasing the knowledge of domestic biogas issues, and quality management’s main objective was to maximise the effectiveness of biogas owners’ investment. The extension aspect goal involved providing information enabling biogas users to effectively exploit all benefits of biogas. Institutional support was also named as a crucial factor in maximising the abilities of sector stakeholders to provide the services and
support required by the biogas sector to facilitate access and development of quality biogas products.

Based on the implementation plan development, future outcomes in terms of energy, environment, fuel substitution, socio-economical, and training aspects have been designed and presented in the report.