The economic benefits of biogas
In rural Africa, biogas not only proves its worth in combatting climate change, it also plays a vital role in improving the economic situation of small-scale farmers. The Kenyan Chege family is one of many families whose lives have improved as a result a simple biogas plant. By Els Rijke, Kenya
Alexander Chege and his wife were among the first farmers to install a biogas plant on their homestead in Kimende, Kiambu region of Kenya. Kimende is now a biogas ‘hub’ with around 50 clients already. Biogas is doing the Chege family really good, especially in terms of savings. The family of six used a lot of charcoal before, as they also need to boil a lot of water for milking their approximately twenty cows. They used to spent around Ksh 4,000 (€ 33) monthly on charcoal and other cooking fuels. Nowadays, they only use biogas, which is reliable and plenty available.
Besides biogas, the bioslurry is very useful. Before, they were using a lot of chemical fertilizer on the commercial crops, up to Ksh 50,000 (€ 410) per season. For this family, the initial investment of around 75,000 ksh (€ 615), excl subsidy is already returned within a year. The income from milk and crop sales could pay off their loan in a short period.
Photo: Mama Chege with her cows
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