Nguyen Quoc Trang, 35, in the Hanoi’s Soc Son district is among those who have seen a lot of advantages from using biogas digesters (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Biogas digesters have provideda valuable source of environmentally friendly energy for cooking and other usesof those living in rural areas in Vietnam.
A biogas project launched by the Dutch AidAgency (SNV) in 2003 has benefitted hundreds of thousands of rural residentsacross Vietnam, changing their mindsets towards a greener lifestyle with lowerpollution.
Nguyen Quoc Trang, 35, in the Hanoi’s Soc Sondistrict is among those who have seen a lot of advantages from using biogasdigesters.
“The biogas digester has helped me save a lot oftime, money and labour in farming pigs”, said the pig farmer, who has used acomposite digester for five years.
The SNV-funded biogas project guided biogasdigester users to convert waste, particularly waste discharged by animalfarming, to clean and reliable energy for cooking and heating via fermentation.The process helps reduce health and environmental problems for the users andtheir neighbours.
“Before having the digester, our pig farmsmelled a lot. My wife and I had to collect and clean the waste twice a day. Itwas very hard work,” Trang said.
Trang spent 11 million VND (500 USD) for acomposite digester installed in his garden in 2013.
He said the workload at his 30-pig farmdecreased and his fuel bill also decreased.
Nghiem Van Tam, who provided the service forTrang, said he has installed biogas digesters of different sizes for many pigfarmers in the neighbourhood. Tam’sbusiness has been spreading to other localities nationwide after 10 years.
Nghiem Van Tam, who provided the service for Trang, said he has installed biogas digesters of different sizes for many pig farmers in the neighbourhood (Photo: VNA) He is one of the masons receiving technologytransfer, training and consultation under the SNV’s biogas project.
Tam also received 1.2 million VND (50 USD) foreach digester he installed for customers.
“The project helps masons like me have a stablejob with good income,” said Liem.
“It also works to ensure Vietnamese rural peoplehave sustainable pig farming.”
According to Nguyen Thu Ha, SNV adviser onRenewable Energy, the biogas project, now in the third phase (2017 – 2020),applies the results-based Financing Facility (RBF) mechanism.
In 2014, the project started to pilotincentives, set at 1.2 million VND (50 USD), for biogas entrepreneurs based onthe number of bio-digesters they have sold, Ha said.
The RBF incentives were designed to improve thequality of installed digesters, while ensuring end-user training andconstruction of digesters meet set standards in the field, and increasing thenumber of biogas digester users.
However, incentives will be reduced in 2018,and will no longer be offered in 2019, Ha added.
More than 162,500 domestic biogas digestershave been constructed across 55 provinces and cities in the country so far.
The figure is expected to reach 180,000 by2018.
The project will contribute to reducinggreenhouse emissions (GHG) by approximately 589,125 tonnes of CO2 annually, byreplacing the use of fossil fuels and non-renewable biomass, and by stoppinganimal waste releasing methane gas into the environment.
The biogas project will bring sustainableenergy and livelihoods to more than 840,000 people, while providing bio-slurrywhich can be used by farmers to improve soil fertility.
In Vietnam, animal husbandry is a vital sectorin the national and rural economy.
The population of pigs raised in the countryincreased by about 35 percent between 2000 and 2010, from about 20 million to morethan 27 million heads.
The National Livestock strategy to 2020,forecasts the pig population to reach 35 million heads.-VNA
VNA
