Investigation into the development poten-tial of biogas technologies for small-scale farmers in Taita Taveta, Kenya

Abstract

Rising energy prices of the 1970s triggered alternative energy research and develop-ment globally. Biogas technology took off in the agricultural sector of developed na-tions, but biogas dissemination failed to spread throughout most developing nations. The failure was largely due to the high initial investment costs and lack of a wide-spread knowledge base. In Kenya, approximately 90% of rural households rely on traditional biomass stoves for cooking. Cooking with traditional biomass stoves leads to environmental, health, economic and gender hardships in the local community. Kenya has been relatively slow to adopt biogas throughout most regions, including Taita Taveta county. Taita Taveta county has a high volume of underutilized animal and plant waste that could otherwise provide environmental, health, economic and social benefits to the region. As a part of this research, a questionnaire with 34 questions was asked to 200 rural households throughout Taita Taveta County. The questions were meant to determine the regional biogas capacity, the level of biogas knowledge, and the potential benefits that biogas dissemination could provide to the region. The results from the question-naire estimated that approximately 15,000 households can provide the financial and substrate capacities required for biogas adoption. Biogas development in the region can provide great benefit through reducing the reliance on traditional biomass and improving the welfare of rural Kenyans.