Workshop participants at the end of the training
SNV Ethiopia and the National Biogas Programme Ethiopia organised a two-day orientation workshop on September 7th and 8th 2009 for companies involved in biogas construction. The workshop was held in Adaá Woreda, Debre Zeit. The Woreda has over 1000 registered diary farmers. 25 participants drawn from construction companies, private masons, and construction cooperatives attended this workshop. The workshop included an introduction to the National Biogas Programme, the promotion of domestic biogas technology, construction details, the socio-economic, financial benefits of domestic biogas, and guidelines on how to register as a biogas company in the Programme.
The orientation workshop also included a field visit to some newly constructed biogas plants. The satisfied biogas users were instrumental in providing information on the business potential for domestic biogas in Ethiopia. For example, a biogas user in Debre Zeit reported that she saves Euro 20 on energy costs and enjoys income from selling biogas slurry of Euro 10 per month.
Participants requested support in the promotion of domestic biogas, access to credit, business development skills upgrading, and for additional training for biogas masons and supervisors. The benefit of bringing existing and potential biogas companies together was recognised by participants.
In the coming weeks, interested companies will register formally in the National Biogas Programme. Construction is expected to be aggressively launched aggressively at the beginning of October. With the engagement of this newly established biogas companies it is foreseen that at least 400 biogas plants will be constructed by the end of 2009. The engagement of the private sector is expected to speed up the promotion in the uptake of the biogas technology in Ethiopia.
The National Biogas Programme Ethiopia commenced with the construction of 14,000 pilot biogas plants in the four regional states (Amhara, SNNPRS, Oromia and Tigray) in January 2009. The first five year phase of the programme will be implemented from 2008 to 2013.