Bridging Zambia's Energy Gap: How Our Biogas Initiative Powers Rural Communities

The cooking fuel crisis is even more severe. Over 80% of Zambians rely on firewood (56.8%) and charcoal (26.9%) for cooking and heating, with only 16.2% of households using clean energy sources. This dependency on traditional fuel sources contributes to deforestation, health risks from indoor air pollution, and perpetuates energy poverty, particularly affecting women and children who bear the burden of fuel collection.

The National Energy Compact 2025

Recognising the urgency of this challenge, Zambia launched its National Energy Compact in January 2025 during the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This ambitious framework, aligned with Vision 2030 and UN Sustainable Development Goal 7, sets transformative targets:

Key Targets by 2030

• Universal Electricity Access: Achieve 100% national electricity coverage, doubling annual on-grid connections from 60,000 to 120,000
• Clean Cooking Solutions: Increase access from 8.9% to 40% through alternative fuels and clean cooking technologies
• Renewable Energy: Enhance non-hydro renewable energy share from 3% to 33%, focusing on solar and wind

The Compact acknowledges that up to 72% of the population could be connected through off-grid electricity solutions as the most cost-effective approach, particularly given Zambia's low population density of 24 inhabitants per square kilometre.

The Clean Cooking Gap

Current usage statistics reveal the scale of the challenge:

Our Biogas Solution

We implemented the "Through Biogas Technology towards Higher Resilience of Communities in Western Province" project (2022-2024) in partnership with Keepers Zambia Foundation and the Czech University of Life Sciences, funded by the Czech Development Agency.

Cost Structure and Financing Model

The project developed an innovative cost-sharing model that made biogas technology accessible while developing ownership amongst farmers. For a standard 6 cubic metre biogas plant costing K12,000, the financing worked as follows:

• Our Subsidy: ZMW 5,700 deposited directly into farmers' bank accounts
• Bank Loan: ZMW 7,600 provided through partner financial institutions as a contribution for labour, local materials (sand, mould blocks, water).
• Total Loan Repayment: ZMW 12,000 over one year (including interest)

This approach addressed a key insight: fully subsidised installations often lack community ownership and maintenance. By requiring farmers to invest their resources and commit to loan repayment, the project ensured genuine adoption and long-term sustainability.

Comparative Advantages Over Other Clean Energy Solutions

Biogas technology offers several advantages over alternatives like solar, LPG, or improved biomass stoves:

• Waste-to-Energy Transformation: Converts organic waste into valuable energy, reducing landfill dependence and mitigating methane emissions
• Weather Independence: Unlike solar and wind, biogas provides a consistent energy supply regardless of weather conditions
• Multi-purpose Utility: Can be used for cooking, lighting, and heating, offering flexibility across energy needs
• Circular Economy Integration: Transforms waste into resources while producing valuable bio-slurry fertiliser
• Greenhouse Gas Reduction: Displaces fossil fuels while capturing methane that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere

Transforming Lives Through Clean Energy

Location: Mongu, Nalolo, and Kalabo Districts, Western Province

Goal: Support smallholder farmers through biogas technology and bio-slurry utilisation

Key Achievements

The project achieved significant success in technology adoption and behavioural change, with 91 farmers successfully adopting biogas plants through an innovative loan scheme with NATSAVE Bank. Remarkably, despite facing severe drought conditions that challenged plant operations, 99% of households maintained positive attitudes towards biogas technology. Perhaps most importantly, 65% of households successfully transitioned from unsustainable energy sources such as charcoal and firewood to renewable biogas, representing a fundamental behavioural shift towards clean energy.

Supporting local capacity-building proved central to the project's sustainability. The initiative trained 152 farmers in biogas plant operations and maintenance while providing 155 farmers with specialised training in bio-slurry application for both agriculture and aquaculture. To ensure long-term government support and integration, 57 Ministry of Agriculture extension officers received comprehensive training in biogas technology. The project's reach was extended through radio programming that reached over 30,000 listeners, featuring testimonials from female users that helped build social trust and community interest in the technology.

The integration of biogas with agricultural activities created multiplier effects that enhanced overall household resilience. Through 12 agriculture demonstration fields, the project showcased how organic farming using bio-slurry could improve productivity while reducing input costs. Additionally, two aquaculture demonstration sites proved bio-slurry's potential for increasing fish productivity, diversifying income sources for participating farmers. The results were impressive: 92.5% of farmers reported increased crop yields, while 79% experienced increased income because of improved productivity. This success helped reduce farmers' dependency on costly chemical fertilisers that often degrade soil quality over time.

Financial inclusion remained a cornerstone of the project's approach to sustainability. The initiative provided financial literacy and entrepreneurship training to 152 farmers, empowering them with skills beyond biogas technology. Partnerships with FINCA and AGORA Microfinance led to the development of tailored financial products specifically designed for biogas investments. When severe drought threatened to undermine farmers' ability to repay loans, the project provided ZMW 828,000 in loan subsidies, protecting vulnerable farmers from default and preserving their access to financial services. The project also prioritized gender inclusion, providing targeted support to female-led households, including in-calf heifers to help them meet biogas plant eligibility criteria.

Real Impact

During a recent visit to the Mongu district, we met Nsamba Mawaya from Moombo Village in Mawawa, a smallholder farmer whose family continues to benefit from biogas technology. His household of 13 demonstrates the project’s lasting impact.

• Ongoing use of biogas for cooking and lighting
• Bio-slurry application in his garden and farm
• Weekly income of ZMW 600 from vegetable sales, sustained by bio-slurry
• Successful harvest enabling family support and food security

Mawaya's story exemplifies how biogas technology enables clean energy for cooking, organic fertiliser for crops, increased productivity, and improved livelihoods. The typical payback period of 1-3 years means families like Mawaya's see returns on their investment relatively quickly, making the technology economically attractive.

Challenges and Barriers to Scaling

Technology Limitations and Requirements

Livestock Requirements: Effective biogas production requires a minimum of 5 cattle per household to generate sufficient feedstock. Recognising this barrier, we introduced a parallel livestock integration initiative, providing in-calf heifers and bulls through a pass-on scheme to help farmers meet this requirement.

Climate Sensitivity: While biogas production is more reliable than solar or wind, it still faces challenges during severe droughts when feedstock becomes limited, as experienced during the 2023-2024 drought.

Technical Maintenance: Farmers require ongoing support for plant maintenance, troubleshooting, and optimisation. Our project addressed this through comprehensive training programs and local mason development.

Scaling Barriers to Other Regions

• Financial Infrastructure: The model requires partnerships with accessible banks and microfinance institutions, which may not exist in all rural areas
• Local Capacity: Success depends on training local masons and extension officers, requiring time and resources for skills development
• Cultural Acceptance: Different regions may have varying levels of openness to new technologies, necessitating tailored approaches
• Feedstock Availability: Areas with limited livestock or organic waste may not be suitable for household-level biogas production
• Market Integration: Success requires functioning supply chains for materials and equipment, plus market access for increased agricultural production

Lessons Learned & Sustainability

Challenges Overcome

• Severe drought (2023-2024) limited feedstock availability, affecting gas production
• Frequent government staff transfers required ongoing reorientation and relationship building
• Initial resistance to new technology required extensive community sensitisation

Key Success Factors

• Climate-smart integration: Combining biogas with drought-resistant farming practices
• Community-centred approach: Continuous sensitisation and local language communication (Silozi IVR messages)
• Multi-stakeholder partnerships: Strong collaboration with government, traditional authorities, and financial institutions
• Gender inclusion: Supporting women as clean energy champions and role models
• Ownership mentality: Cost-sharing model that builds commitment and responsibility

Ongoing Support Requirements

For Individual Farmers:

• Access to affordable credit and financial services
• Technical support for maintenance and troubleshooting
• Continuous training on optimisation techniques
• Market linkages for increased agricultural production

For Scaling Success:

• Partnership development with banks and microfinance institutions
• Training programmes for local masons and technicians
• Government policy support and integration into extension services
• Supply chain development for materials and equipment

Scaling Biogas Solutions

Community-Scale Solutions

Rather than focusing solely on individual household plants, future scaling could include community-level biogas installations. Larger digesters (12-1000 m³) serving multiple households or entire villages offer several advantages:

• Economic Efficiency: Lower per-unit costs for larger installations
• Collective Maintenance: Shared responsibility and expertise for upkeep
• Processing Capacity: Ability to handle community organic waste streams
• Energy Distribution: Potential for mini-grid electricity generation

Policy Recommendations

• Financial Sector Development: Encourage banks to develop specialised biogas financing products
• Skills Development: Integrate biogas technology into technical education curricula
• Standards and Quality: Develop national standards for biogas plant construction and maintenance
• Research and Development: Support local research into climate-adapted biogas solutions
• Tax Incentives: Consider tax relief for biogas equipment and installations

Environmental Impact Quantification

While specific CO2 reduction figures from our project weren't available, biogas technology's environmental benefits are substantial:

• Methane Capture: Prevents potent greenhouse gas emissions from organic waste
• Deforestation Reduction: Decreases pressure on forest resources for cooking fuel
• Soil Health: Bio-slurry fertiliser improves soil carbon content and reduces chemical fertiliser dependence
• Air Quality: Eliminates indoor air pollution from biomass burning

People in Need's biogas project demonstrates that alternative energy solutions can succeed in rural Zambia when properly implemented with:

• Financial support mechanisms that make technology accessible while building ownership
• Comprehensive training that supports local capacity for long-term sustainability
• Integrated approaches that address energy, agriculture, and livelihoods simultaneously
• Strong partnerships that ensure continuity beyond project completion
• Recognition and mitigation of technology limitations through complementary interventions

As Zambia pursues its National Energy Compact goals, successful models like this biogas initiative provide a roadmap for achieving the ambitious target of 40% clean cooking access by 2030. With biogas stove usage currently at just 0.05%, there is enormous potential for scaling up this proven solution.

A Blueprint for Energy Resilience

The success of our biogas project in Western Province provides a practical path toward energy independence for rural Zambian communities. As Nsamba Mawaya's ongoing success demonstrates, biogas technology doesn't just supply clean energy; it transforms household economies and strengthens resilience against climate challenges.

The project's innovative financing model, comprehensive capacity sharing, and integrated approach to energy, agriculture, and livelihoods offer valuable lessons for scaling clean energy access across Sub-Saharan Africa. By addressing the unique barriers facing rural communities, from livestock requirements to financial access, and building genuine local ownership, biogas technology can play a crucial role in Zambia's energy transition.

With government commitment through the National Energy Compact and proven community-level solutions like biogas technology, Zambia can bridge its energy gap while building a more sustainable and equitable future for all its citizens. The path forward requires continued innovation in financing, sustained investment in local capacity, and recognition that clean energy access is about transforming lives and supporting resilient communities.

Advocating for more inclusive and sustainable access to energy is not just our responsibility—it's our pathway to supporting communities across Zambia.