Clean energy solutions in Tanzania
With the demand for milk and milk products estimated to more than double by 2020, and the high percentage of rural households living without electricity, biogas digesters can provide an effective, clean energy solution for families in Tanzania.
The biogas digester fuelling Mama Katarina's stove produce the right amount of gas for her family of six to cook three meals a day. ©FAO/Christabel Clark
Tanzania’s dairy sector is based on traditional farming systems consisting of grazing on mostly communal land. Only 12 percent of the 2.5 billion litres of milk produced in Tanzania each year is sold through small-scale milk traders and collective bulking centres. Close to 90% of rural households do not have electricity. Therefore, when dairy farmers have problems delivering the evening milk, the raw milk is usually left unrefrigerated overnight. Between 30 to 40 percent of milk is lost due to minimal access to markets, poor milk handling practices and a lack of modern energy to cool and preserve milk.
“Often, the evening milk, which can be over 1/3 of the total milk produced during the day, is spoiled due to lack of chilling facilities,” explains Alessandro Flammini, Natural Resources Officer at FAO.
Through the Investing in Sustainable Energy Technologies in the Agrifood Sector (INVESTA) project, FAO is working closely with the Tanzanian Dairy Board to promote the use of milk cooling systems powered by biogas digesters.
Now you may be asking: What is a biogas digester? Biogas digesters are large tanks in which biogas is produced through the decomposition of organic matter, such as manure, by a process called anaerobic digestion. They are called digesters because organic material is eaten and digested by bacteria to produce biogas.