Biogas - the sustainable waste to fuel South Africa

South Africa has barely scratched the surface of the enormous potential of biogas as a sustainable energy source, waste management system and producer of fertiliser.

Biogas offers the most accessible solution to the challenges in SA relating to energy production, waste treatment and environmental pollution - especially for homes and schools in rural areas, food manufacturing and waste treatments plants in municipalities - and it should be prioritised as a sustainable solution.

This is according to Agama Biogas, which has been producing and installing prefabricated biogas digesters across the country for a decade.

In South Africa, the industry has existed in a low intensity state for a long time, inhibited by complex legislation requirements relating to power and waste streams. There are currently approximately 100 biogas projects in South Africa either in development, construction or operation.

“There is at least 90MW of energy lying in sewerage treatment plants across the country – installing biodigesters at water treatment plants would significantly reduce the electricity requirements of these facilities, which are energy intensive,” says Gordon Ayres, CEO of Agama Biogas.

“Some large food manufacturing plants utilise up to one million litres of water per day, that is not recycled – biogas digesters would enable the waste water to be recycled in an energy efficient process, while outputting gas to drive power for the plants and fertiliser which can be used in agriculture.”

Ayres says that in Germany, 10% of the power feeding the national grid comes from biogas derived from processed sewerage and wheat silage and in the USA, biogas digesters are widely used on dairy farms, where the primary output usage is fertiliser.

“We really would like government to prioritise exploring the potential of biogas as a sustainable solution for alternative energy production and waste management in South Africa – reduction of environmental pollution, job creation and access to energy for disadvantaged communities, are just a few of the compelling reasons to do so now,” says Ayres.

“We are talking about biogas enabling a full circle or closed loop economy. With issues of water scarcity and sustainability currently on the table, we need to approach things differently.”

Ayres says that there is no time like the present to utilise biogas in South Africa, given our current challenges. “The biogas solution reduces waste, so reducing the spread of disease, and it transforms organic waste onsite into energy production for cooking, while providing slurry for natural fertiliser as a by-product.” 

Agama is expanding its low cost solution biogas digesters to disadvantaged communities across South Africa. “It will enhance people’s lives - The capturing of methane through the use of biogas technology has an immensely important role to play in rural energisation, poverty alleviation and development.”

There is a growing understanding of biogas technology, and biogas gas is significantly cheaper than LP gas. People are becoming open to the idea of using biogas digesters and learning that waste can have a physical value.

Agama has installed more than 20 government and USAID sponsored biogas digesters in rural schools in South Africa with excellent results. “The schools are able to maintain the systems. “We are currently putting another 30 systems into Eastern Cape schools,” says Ayres.

There are more than 300,000 rural South Africa households that could benefit from the technology. Ayres explains that simple biogas digesters are an accessible solution for low income households. “Our digesters take very little technical skill to build onsite, however the challenge lies in enhancing local awareness and educating the market. The most effective way to reach the market has been through a handful of local distributors who talk to the market for us and consequently, we have seen the number of units sold rise to 500 this year.”

Agama Biogas provides relevant training and licensing and the distributors communicate with the people that live in the area – sometimes in the official local language if needs be – to make sure the customer is fully aware of the product and its advantages.

“If we succeed, biogas digesters will be widely recognised as a simple, cost effective solution that will eventually become the norm for households or businesses,” says Ayres.

What is biogas ?

A biogas digester (also known as a biogas plant), comprises a large tank in which biogas is produced through the decomposition/breakdown of organic matter (Such as food waste and plant matter) through a process called anaerobic digestion. It's called a digester because organic material is eaten and digested by bacteria to produce biogas.

Biogas is a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane, that resembles liquid petroleum gas. Like natural gas, biogas is used as a fuel to produce electricity, to power farm equipment, for lighting applications, in gas cookers for cooking, and even as fuel for vehicles. Biogas is widely used across the world.

How does a biogas digester work?

A typical biogas digester has a container that holds organic matter and water, called slurry. A digester also has second container that holds the gas that has been produced after the organic matter is broken down. A series of pipes connect the slurry into the digester and from there connect to the container that will hold the gas output. There is also a transport system to take the biogas to where it will be used. The digester also has a mechanism for ejecting the residue.

 Press release

See the "Alternative and renewable energy" page in AgribookDigital.

 

Strengthening South Africa’s water value chain through partnership

Press release

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No value chain is stronger than its weakest link, and this is particularly true for the water sector – the value chain consisting of upstream supply chain, operations and downstream product use. But can a weak link be strengthened through partnerships? 

This is the question that guided the discussions of over 150 senior leaders from the water sector at the 5th Annual Water Stewardship Event which took place today at the Crowne Plaza  Rosebank, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The event – hosted by the Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN), the Natural Resources Stewardship Programme (NatuReS), the National Business Initiative (NBI), and the Royal Danish Embassy – explored strategies to further develop and test alternative water management and water delivery solutions to overcome some of the nation’s most pernicious water challenges and help meet the nation’s water service objectives.

According to the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan only 65 percent of South Africans have access to safe and reliable water services and 14.1 million people lack access to decent sanitation. Moreover, the South African water sector struggles with financial challenges and capacity restrictions, constraining its ability to bridge the service delivery gap. A lack of investment in South Africa’s water infrastructure and maintenance has resulted in 56 percent of South Africa’s 1,150 wastewater treatment works and 44 percent of domestic water treatment works being categorised as being in poor or critical condition in need of urgent rehabilitation. The financing gap is partly explained by the fact that 41 percent of municipal water does not generate any revenue. The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) estimates that it will take R33 billion each year for the next 10 years to achieve water security, yet the budget for DWS is R15.5 billion – less than half of what is required. 

The National Water and Sanitation Master Plan provides strong support and clear direction for the development of alternative, multi-partners service delivery solutions, stating that a “turn-around towards financial sustainability is not optional.” To overcome the sector’s challenges and meet water service delivery objectives, concerted efforts are required, and holistic and inclusive solutions are urgently needed from both the public and the private sector.

Speakers at the 5^th Annual Water Stewardship Event presented transformative initiatives that exemplify how non-traditional actors are spearheading new models of collaboration. Moving forward, such approaches could be the key to unlocking new financing and overcoming the most obstinate obstacles to delivering reliable and equitable water and sanitation services to all South Africans. Discussions focused on three key approaches that demonstrated significant potential for impact and scale: Public-private-partnerships, community and catchment-based approaches, and corporate water stewardship.

Public-private partnerships, or PPPs as they are commonly known, are long-term contracts between the public and private sector that require risk transfer to the private party. Beyond the normal functions that the private sector might take on, such as design and construction, PPPs extend into areas such as project financing, staffing, and the operation of specific assets. They are increasingly becoming a popular tool amongst public service organisations to secure efficient delivery and accessibility to public goods. Opportunities for deploying PPPs within the water value chain abound, and include, among others, desalination, any form of water reuse, groundwater extraction, and wastewater treatment.

There are three main categories of benefits that municipalities can leverage by deploying a PPP model, said Dhevan Govender, Senior Commercial and Business Manager with eThekwini Municipality, where a number of PPP projects are underway. “PPPs are the way to go to improve access to basic services, increase quality and efficiency of services, and mobilise capital,” said Govender, “the public sector has the vision, and the private sector has the technology and capital, and PPPs enable us to leverage that to deliver sustainable projects.”

Community-owned water solutions and catchment-based partnerships are another type of collaborative approach being successfully implemented across South Africa. While the specifics of each partnership may vary, they all incorporate some form of collaboration between communities, companies, and municipalities, sometimes at a river catchment scale, delivering a range of environmental, social and economic benefits and protecting precious water environments for the benefit of all.

Corporate water stewardship, which used to largely exist on the sidelines of business operations, has evolved significantly over the past decade from the realm of corporate social reasonability and emerged as a proven alternative model to address water security challenges beyond the fence line of a company’s operations. Given the realities of a warming climate and rapidly growing and urbanizing population, companies are being forced to think very hard about the context in which they operate. 

“It has now become a business imperative for us” explained Nicole Solomon, Head of Corporate Social Development with AECI, a corporate partner of the Wise Wayz Water Initiative, a community-based programme that works with fence line communities in eThekwini to leverage clean, secure, and reliable water into livelihood opportunities.

Alternative water management and water delivery solutions that were experimental just a few years ago have today shown tremendous potential to address the country’s water challenges. Looking ahead, there is a need to take the lessons learned from these successful initiatives and move from demonstration to scale.

“The scale of the crisis we face today is unprecedented, but it is a collective crisis, meaning that the consequences of inaction will affect us all” said the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Chief Director for Regulations, Ndileka Mohapi. “Partnership is therefore of the utmost importance, and I would like to ensure that we move together to take the opportunity to work together as partners to leverage the full scale of benefits available to us to overcome this shared challenge.”

Relevant pages on AgribookDigital include "Water", "Water storage", "Irrigation", "Boreholes & windmills", "Invasive alien species", "Wetlands" and "Rainwater harvesting".

The Mark Fish Foundation to host farm workers’ soccer league finals

The Mark Fish Foundation will be hosting the Game of Stars farm workers’ soccer league on 19 October 2019 at The Ranch Resort in Polokwane. The Mark Fish Foundation embarked on an initiative in 2018 to use football as a platform to build bridges between communities – and, therefore, cultural and social differences. This year the Game of Stars farm workers’ soccer league hosted five district tournaments – where 47 matches were played and an impressive 117 goals were scored – to determine the top 10 teams that will battle it out at the finals for the coveted Limpopo Trophy.

“The Game of Stars tournament creates a sporting culture on farms; it builds relationships between farm workers themselves and with their employer. It also uplifts skillsets and provides players with a platform to showcase their talent,” says Mark Fish, who will be officiating the event.

Game of Stars uses the quick-paced fast-footy football format and is a collaborative effort between the Mark Fish Foundation, Agri Limpopo, Saai and Farmboek. Games will be broadcast on DigiTV, as well as on StarSat.

A team will be selected by Fish and advisors after the finals to practice for a week and play a friendly game against SuperSport United in the first week of November. This game will also be streamed to DigiTV and StarSat.

Press release Saai

Should I Sell My Farm or Change It?

While South African agriculture is a success story, individual farmers experience the weather and market fluctuations differently. Some crops are particularly vulnerable to sudden climatic and economic shifts, and different parts of the country handle short- and medium-term farming obstacles with variable confidence and resilience.

If you are facing problems, you may find yourself wondering, Should I sell my farm or just change things and adapt to the circumstances? 

Making changes and diversifying ...

There are a few more alternative routes you should consider going before setting your heart on selling your farm, like conservation agriculture or permaculture. Study the market and identify niche products that are in demand in your area. Build relationships with local restaurants and shopkeepers and get to know what sells really well.

Are you a crop farmer? Is there a different crop you should try? Or look at doing a different livestock species or adopt a mixed crop-livestock farming strategy. Instead of giving up on your farm, you can diversify what you do on it. It might well save your business and bring back the joy of it, too. Go through the overviews of all livestock options on AgribookDigital. And the crop overviews are divided into horticulture, agronomy/field crops and industrial crops.

Consider going into speciality veg such as baby carrots and baby greens that enjoy relatively stable popularity in the food industry. Switch to producing edible oils, vinegars, or other base products that are in almost every pantry. Think creatively!

Remember to take your cue from the market. Don’t grow something and then look for someone who will buy it. Find the different marketing options at https://agribook.co.za/marketing-finance/marketing/.

Look for available incentives – financial and otherwise. The Western Cape Department of Agriculture has the Alternative Crops Fund (ACF), for example. The ACF is a R3 million per annum fund to boost exports and bolster land reform. Alternative, smaller crops include berries and pomegranates. Read about the Biodiversity Stewardship options which include funding options in some cases. Certainly there are tax breaks and access to conservation experts. See https://agribook.co.za/natural-resource-management/biodiversity-and-ecosystems-services/#bioregional

Mixing farming operations with farm stays/agritourism increases security and brings in another revenue stream. See the Tourism and agriculture page at https://agribook.co.za/adding-value/tourism-and-agriculture/.

Most of the money in the agrifood chain goes to the processing side. How can you get involved here? Find the adding value options at https://agribook.co.za/adding-value/. Adding value can be as simple as supplying biltong or meat that is already cooked. Instead of simply selling milk, also make yoghurt, cheese or maas.

If it Is really time to sell...

When the thought of selling your farm outweighs all other alternatives, there is plenty of preparation to do before you can rest easy. First and foremost, do not stop farming while you are searching for a buyer. Your farm will be much more appealing in its fully working condition than at a standstill.

Time the sale right and do not try to sell when crops are bad and droughts have devastated your area. When potential buyers come around, use the research you have done on the points we mentioned above to emphasise the potential for future growth and diversification.

Selling your farm is not an easy step, and you will be wise to explore your other options first. If your heart is set on selling, however, do not be shy about using the research you have done to your advantage.

By Bruce Hakutizwi with additions by Craig MacAskill. Hakutizwi is Director of North America for BusinessesForSale.com, "the world’s largest online marketplace for buying and selling small and medium size businesses". MacAskill is the editor of AgribookDigital.

Guide for community-run nurseries: Restoration work is helping to create work in rural areas

WWF South Africa has published a practical guide to encourage the establishment of community-run nurseries where indigenous plants can be cultivated for replanting in areas cleared of alien vegetation.

This approach tackles two challenges at the same time – the need to actively restore degraded areas by re-establishing indigenous plant communities, along with the need to create sustainable livelihoods in rural environments.

Operating a nursery is labour intensive which supports livelihoods, but to run a nursery that stocks indigenous plants that can be used to restore the veld also requires specialised knowledge.

Hence the publication of A practical guide for community-run nurseries: Growing indigenous plants for restoration (available in English and Afrikaans). This illustrated guide provides an overview of the skills and knowledge needed to run a nursery along with plant propagation principles and techniques.

Says Christine Colvin, Senior Manager of WWF South Africa’s Freshwater Programmes: “We actively support the idea of a healthy ‘catchment economy’ in South Africa’s water source areas. To this end, WWF has joined hands with our many partners to encourage the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs) to work on active restoration of our catchment areas once alien vegetation has been cleared.”

A shining example of a community-based nursery is in Genadendal near Greyton which, with support from WWF, is run by an SMME called JJs Producers and provides work for 22 people from the surrounding area.

MD of JJs Producers, Lumka Madolo, explains: “Actively restoring our water resources is not only about contributing to the country’s water security but also about contributing towards livelihoods. People are always the core of any ecological restoration work, which is why WWF involved the Genadendal community from the start of this project. We have developed into an SMME that now has more river and wetland restoration projects, creating employment for people of the surrounding areas. The most rewarding part is having healthy, functioning rivers and wetland systems and satisfied people, while also contributing towards the country’s economy.”

The guide was launched at the 8th World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Cape Town which was held between 22 and 27 September 2019. To download a copy of the guide click here.

Contact: Andrea Weiss aweiss@wwf.org.za or 082 920 5993

Relevant pages on AgribookDigital include Invasive Alien Species and Floriculture and nursery crops.