Publications

The Kenya Biogas programme is a component of the African Biogas Partnership Programme (ABPP), funded by the Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs through two Dutch development NGO’s, the Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos) and the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV).

The overall goal of the Programme is to improve livelihoods of rural farmers through benefits of domestic biogas and develop of a commercially viable, market oriented biogas sector.  In the first 2 years of implementation a total of 3,239 plants have been installed across the country, 477 rural youth trained and engaged in gainful activities as biogas masons and some 67 biogas construction companies engaged viable business.

Over this time a total of over 18,000 farmers have been reached through the Programme’s promotional and extension activities, further raising awareness on the need to use clean energy and increasing agricultural production through effective use of bio-slurry. The Programme is also a key in the development of National biogas standards in Kenya Bureau of Standards that are expected to regulate development of the biogas sector for sustained growth and sustainability.

The year 2011 was the second year of effective implementation of the Kenya National Domestic Biogas Programme (KENDBIP). The year saw a significant expansion in its partnership network with over 55 institutions and organizations from both the private and public sectors collaborating with the programme in the implementation of the various programme components, enhancing the programme’s outreach and service delivery to clients.

In June 2010 SNV, together with IFAD, organised a conference on ‘brokering knowledge for upscaling best practices in Inclusive Markets Access in East & Southern Africa’, which brought together over 70 participants from 11 African countries from donor, public and private sector to share experiences. This report summarizes the main issues discussed during the conference, of which the main focus was seeking to bring about systemic change for larger-scale sustainable inclusive markets with a wider significance.

The main purpose of this study was to explore the potential of camel milk from the Isiolo district in Northern Kenya to access sustainable formal markets. And secondly, establish whether the value chain presents a business case for investments by the private sector and development agencies interested in increased livelihoods of pastoral communities and other actors involved in the value chain.

This publication has been produced as part of a series under the Building Advisory Practice (BAP) initiative of SNV East Africa; conceptualized and supported by a team of SNV staff and advisers. Lead consultant for the BAP initiative is Rob Sinclair.

This annual report provides more detail of the strategic position choices SNV made in East and Southern Africa in 2007 and illustrates our approach with case studies from our practice.

SNV Netherlands Development Organization subscribes to these developments and devotes considerable part of its advisory services for capacity development in the tourism sector. SNV advisors work with a variety of organizations, stakeholders and actors, such as Ministries of Tourism, Tourism Boards, Hotel Associations, Community Based Tourism Organizations as well as with Associations of Tour Operators and many others. Against this background SNV East and Southern Africa brought together practitioners in the tourism sector to present and exchange experiences around the issue of Government Incentives to Boost Local Economic Impacts of Tourism.

This document is the outcome of that initiative. SNV and Rwanda’s ORTPN hosted a regional tourism workshop in Kigali Rwanda in October 2006. The workshop drew on ‘action research’ by SNV advisors in 6 countries and brought together SNV partners and advisors from East and Southern African countries.

The Kenya National Domestic Biogas Programme (KENDBIP) is a component of ABPP (Africa Biogas Partnership Programme). The objective of this Programme Implementation Document (PID) is to outline the approach being taken by the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENFAP), in its capacity as the National Implementing Agency (NIA) for KENDBIP. Sector development implies the close collaboration of all relevant stakeholders at all levels. In this process, KENFAP is not just a player amongst others, but acts as the “sector leader”.

This PID proposes that KENDBIP be implemented based on private sector market oriented principles, but relying on governmental support for a favourable regulatory and policy environment. The programme adopts and customizes the approach to biodigester dissemination developed by SNV – the ‘multistakeholder sector development approach’. KENFAP will operationalise a ‘Biogas Office’, which, once set up, will go through a participatory envisioning process to ensure effective delivery of goods and services under KENDBIP. To reduce the investment cost barrier of domestic biogas installations, the programme will provide an investment subsidy; in addition, financial institutions will be encouraged to partner in the programme to provide loans to the end users and the government will be approached to offer investment incentives. It is expected that KENDBIP will lead to savings of 37,388 tons of fuel wood and 13,460 tons of charcoal. An estimated 73,623 tonnes5 of CO2 equivalent emissions will be avoided, and the health of over 15,000 men and women and over 38,800 children will be significantly improved.

Formulation of Programme Implementation Document for Domestic Biogas Programme in Kenya: mission report on selection of biogas plant design and formulation of quality control framework and certification procedures for biogas constructors (2009).

This is a mission report on the selection of biogas plants design and the formulation of quality control framework and certification procedures for biogas constructors. The main objective of the mission was to assist in the formulation of PID for the National Domestic Biogas Programme (NDB) in Kenya.

The success of the biogas programme depends heavily upon the workable and effective implementation plan that is based upon the grassroots reality of the sector. This technical mission has been considered to be instrumental in collecting first hand primary data and information on these issues from the users’ level so that the findings are reflected in the implementation plan.

The mission included a field investigation and a constructors’ workshop. The programme was successfully completed in the stipulated time frame. It has been effective and successful in selecting the most appropriate model of biogas plant to be disseminated, in formulating workable quality control framework, and in preparing accreditation/certification mechanisms for effective participation of private sector
companies in the programme. The workshop provided a common platform to share ideas, information, problems and potential solutions regarding biogas plant construction in Kenya.

The outcome of the general training programme evaluation supported the effectiveness and success of the workshop in particular, and the mission as a whole. In order to formulate practical PID for effective promotion and extension of biogas technology in the country, outcomes of this mission are expected to be instrumental and highly beneficial.

This publication has been produced as part of a series under the Building Advisory Practice (BAP) initiative of the SNV East and Southern Africa, conceptualized and supported by a team of SNV staff and advisers, Rob Sinclair, BAP Lead Consultant. original text by Corina Dhaene (ACE Europe, Belgium, www.ace-europe.be), and developed by SNV edited by Helen van Houten, design and layout by Conrad Mudibo, Ecomedia Limited

This assignment was commissioned by SNV, HIVOS and Solidaridad - Horticulture and Food Security Programme, and implemented by SNV and Fineline Systems and Management between March and August 2012. The obective was to develop and analysis and strategy for the bean sub-sector within the Markets for the Poor (M4P) framework. The analysis includes the overall sub-sector perfomance and position of the poor within it; the structure, players and relationship that describes how it operates; key systemic constraints on the sub-sector; main elements of the sub-sector strategy; and specific interventions consistent with the analysis and strategy.

The initiative to present a series of country documents on the state of Sustainable and Pro Poor Tourism in Africa was brought forward during an international workshop in Rwanda at the end of 2006. At this workshop SNV advisors, hotel and tour operators, government staff and representatives of NGOs and international donors exchanged their views on “How Governments can Boost Local Economic Development through Tourism”.