Technical and socioeconomic constraints to the domestication and functionality of biogas technology in rural areas of southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Although biogas technology has been introduced as a national program to respond to the ever-increasing energy demand in Ethiopia, empirical studies on the technical, institutional and socioeconomic constraints to the domestication and functionality of the technology are scant. Thus, this study provides an overview of these constraints. The study is based on, key-informant interviews, legislation and strategy documents, extensive literature reviews and observation of bio-digesters. Limitations in technical, economic, sociocultural and institutional perspectives are the major factors constraining the domestication and functionality of the technology. The constraints pertain to the adequacy of institutional follow-up; management of bio-slurry; availability and cost of maintenance service; price, availability and accessibility of appliances at local markets; availability of credit associations; adequacy of masons skill; skill and level of awareness of users; and sociocultural acceptance to connecting toilets to bio-digesters. Primarily, these constraints emanate from the weak organizational and institutional alignment among key stakeholders. Thus, for the realization of sustainable domestication of the ABOUT THE AUTHOR Getachew Sime currently works at Hawassa University. Getachew does research in climate change, rural food and energy security, climatesmart agriculture and traditional agricultural practices. The current article is part of the undergoing project tilted Bioenergy -Ethiopia -Norway.

Seasonal variability of resources: The unexplored adversary of biogas use in rural Ethiopia

“…Feedstock left in the digester without movement since the last wet season could dry out or separate into liquid and solid components, changing the physical, chemical and biological characteristics required for biogas production. In an environment where lack of technical help is widely reported ( Rupf et al, 2015 ; Lwiza et al, 2017 ; Kabera et al, 2016 ), full abandonment of digesters may be an unintended consequence of seasonal dis-adoption as users tend to return to former practices if the technology is not working ( Sime, 2020 ; Barry et al, 2011 ).…”

“…Few studies on energy use changes between seasons exist from the global south ( Lam et al, 2017 ). The authors can find no literature on this topic of seasonally dormant continuous flow digesters, although the abandonment or malfunction of new digesters is widely reported from projects in Eastern Africa ( Kelebe et al, 2017 ; Lwiza et al, 2017 ; Sime, 2020 ; Shallo and Sime, 2019 ). Monitoring and reporting on this topic needs to be established, as technologies for improved cooking efficiencies are not sustainable or beneficial without long-term use which enables the embedded energy to be recovered.…”

“…Failure of project plans to include monitoring of sustained use was previously due to absence of suitable metrics for doing so, but this is no longer the case ( Ruiz-Mercado et al, 2011 ). Although monitoring and technical support were features which were theoretically built into the NBPE, the few studies published report their absence ( Kamp and Bermúdez Forn, 2016 ; Sime, 2020 ); a situation shared with other biogas projects in SSA ( Rupf et al, 2015 ; Kabera et al, 2016 ). Interestingly, Ruiz-Mercado et al (2011) argue that there is a dis-incentive for monitoring technologies that promise to increase household efficiencies due to technology promotions being based on unrealistic efficiencies of up to 100%, meaning some degree of failure is almost inevitable.…”

“…Current recommended dilution ratios for cow manure as a substrate for AD are usually one part manure to at least one part water by volume ( Kamp and Bermúdez Forn, 2016 ; Mungwe et al, 2016 ; Sime, 2020 ), so uptake may require additional trips to collect water, on top of those currently made for basic household requirements. This may or may not be offset by reduction in time spent collecting wood and/or other fuel sources, making relative values of time perhaps more pertinent than absolute values ( Smith et al, 2013 ).…”

“…Despite such criteria to select the most suitable households, many biogas projects continue to fail. A recent study in Southern Ethiopia found that over 80% of recently installed digesters were abandoned or malfunctioning due to shortage of water, and that problems were worse during dry season ( Sime, 2020 ). Here, we look beyond these basic eligibility criteria to identify practical factors which may be involved in the failure of digesters to run for sustained periods.…”