Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima of Netherlands during her visit to Rwanda
On her recent tour of Africa in April 2009, Her Royal Highness Princess Maxima of Netherlands, in her role as Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, visited Rwanda. She visited a biogas plant in Rulindo where farmers access small loans to invest in biogas plants. Emmanuel Rwirangira and his family were delighted to welcome the Princess. Emmanuel took time to explain how biogas works and how much it has changed their lives. Mrs. Rwirangira, who used to cook in a smoky environment, says that now her kitchen is very clean and there is no more smoke. “Even the cooking is very easy and very quick,” she said.
Emmanuel, a micro entrepreneur, says he has already seen the economic benefits of biogas. “My cows are now yielding 20 liters of milk a day, while it used to be less than 15 liters before biogas installation,” says Emmanuel. That is equal to 1,000 Rwandan Francs more per day (37 Euro per month). The explanation is simple. The time previously spent looking for firewood is now used to look for fodder for cows. With more grass consumed by the cows, milk production has increased. Emmanuel also explained to the Princess how the fertiliser from the biogas plant has improved his production of maize and fruits. “There is no pesticide,” said Emmanuel proudly, handing a basket of fruits he produced as a gift to the Princess.
Emmanuel’s digester is part of a vast national program that aims to build 3000 digesters across the country by 2011 in rural households owning at least two cows. Operational since 2008, The National Domestic Biogas Programme is a cooperation between the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure (responsible for implementation and partial funding), SNV Rwanda, (which provides technical assistance), and GTZ that provides funds management support through the Dutch - German Energizing Development Program.
With a cost of around 1000 Euros, the biogas plant requires a big upfront investment for rural farmers. Because of its benefits to the environment and society in general, and to encourage farmer investment in domestic biogas, the programme provides a 375 Euro subsidy while the remainder is paid by the farmer.
To facilitate access to this technology, a micro loan has been developed by Banque Populaire du Rwanda, with financing from the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and financial product development support from SNV Rwanda. This allows rural farmers to get a biogas micro loan of 375 Euro, repayable over three years. Payback is in monthly installments of 14 Euros – roughly equal to the cost of buying fuel wood, charcoal and/or kerosene for a typical household, - enabling small farmers to substitute their spending on fuel wood by loan repayment and not feel any burden from the loan while investing in their future.