BIOGAS FOR SUSTAINABLE POWER GENERATION AND CONSUPTION

The purpose of the project is to increase the availability of and access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable renewable and connect off-grid users and beyond the grid; support cleaner electricity generation delivered by the grid and accelerate distributed renewable energy; and work with lower income communities to improve the enabling environment for energy sector investment and innovation. This Biogas for Green Entrepreneurship Project intends to address energy and fertilizer needs for rural communities and promote better livelihoods through youth entrepreneurships in Zambia. This Biogas for Green Entrepreneurship Project championed by a youth organization called Hysper Youth Enterprise. 

The project supports the inclusion of women, youth, and marginalized groups in both employment activities and energy access. Hysper develop capacity building innovations for target populations to improve energy consumption efficiency and provide expert support on energy inclusion strategies for marginalized communities.
The project objectives:

End energy poverty by increasing access to affordable, reliable energy which can support increased economic activity and improved living standards.
Increase the supply of electricity in communities through clean energy solutions. Remove constraints to investment in community energy sectors and to increase innovation. Charcoal is the main source of energy for cooking for over 90% of the Zambian population. Charcoal production has been identified as the main driver of deforestation and land degradation in Zambia. This has direct negative impacts on the climate. This proposed project of Biogas production and by-product utilization is one of the solutions to this deforestation and land degradation problem.

The digestate, which is a biogas production by-product, is fertilizer that  contains all nutrients and micronutrients necessary for modern farming, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The projected use of the digestate will minimize the land degrading Nomadic farming that is being practiced in most rural areas in Zambia; and it will help in reducing the overreliance on imported artificial fertilizer, which is currently a burden on the coffers of the nation. The belief is that setting up a biogas production plant with a view of replicating it in rural households will have a positive impact on the environment by:

1) making the gas available for household uses - to reduce deforestation and deal away with inefficient energy dependence,
2) improving income generation,
3) using the gas to generate electricity which will require training for the youth and skills acquisition by the youth thus, addressing unemployment among the youths and promoting some farm value addition and manufacturing,
4) using the digestate both as irrigation slurry and solid digestate fertilizers to mitigate the negative impacts of nomadic agriculture on the environment.

The pivotal activity of this project is the establishment of pig production as a guaranteed source of raw material for the Biogas production. This is an avenue for value addition – small scale abattoir and meat product processing, pig production skills acquisition for the youth and capital generation for future scaling out and ensuring long term sustainability and community uptake.

Zambian rural communities are practicing nomadic agriculture whereby they deforest farming lands to cultivate crops. They use the land for about 5 years. When it loses nutrients they leave the area barren and move to other fertile areas where they start deforesting the land in order to start farming again. This is emanating from the high costs of chemical fertilizers, a 50kg bag costs 40USD as of July 2022. Statistics show that the Northern province is the only area that has not suffered the nomadic agricultural practices though it is already being targeted. Hence, if this project proposal is successful, its implementation will go a long way in helping save the province from deforestation by introducing farmers to this proposed comprehensive climate friendly package. The project will supply them with organic fertilizers that are affordable to the local farmers. As a result, they will stay in one place, being able to keep their soil fertile and stop deforesting the land which is detrimental to the climate. 

The crops to be grown as part of the project will be used to make hydroponic feeds which are water, land and energy efficient; and they also reduce the need for dry feeds for livestock. A training center will be established where youths of the community will learn bio-digester building skills and replicate them in the society thus, empowering youths and making a significant difference in the community of Zambia. The proposed project is a complete package that can make a farm and a manufacturing industry function on their own where everything is available from raw materials to value addition for out-scaling. As such, having this idea implemented in Zambia means a lot of jobs are created and more income is generated which highly contribute to economic growth and the overall Gross Domestic Product and a better environment for generations to come.

The lead applicant for the project – “Biogas for Sustainable Livelihoods and Green Youth Entrepreneurship” – is a senior lecturer at The University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, which is one of the high ranking institution for research, learning and teaching in the country and the world. According to the prestigious Times Higher Education rankings, UCT Prague, one of five Czech universities, ranks among the 4% of the best world universities (*2017). The school has also dominated the rankings of the Education Policy Centre of Charles University in the category “Emphasis on Science, Research and Creativity” category (*2016). 

Clinton Gando, Ellen Mooya, Rebeca, Theresa Matanhire, Aretha Sianyeke, Esther Phiri and Mike Masuka make strategic plans (especially the Theory of Change) and lays the groundwork for more detailed work plans on a quarterly or monthly basis. Aretha Sianyeke is in charge of the team that develops a financial strategy and a plan to allocate funds appropriately. He also, establishes good accounting guidelines, policies and procedures to support daily operations and processes, including how to access project funds.
Theresa Matanhire is in charge of Procurement, which is one of the most critical operations in the implementation of initiatives, since this generally involves the public procurement of goods, (e.g. materials and equipment), services (e.g. administrative and technical assistance) and works (e.g.
building a training block). Esther Phiri and Ellen Mooya are directly involved in managing people and motivating them, and involves dealing with diversity, power and conflict. They ensure that we as an organization have sufficient staff with the ‘right’ competencies and whether conditions are in place to motivate them to do the work. Mike Masuka is in charge of maintenance of asserts, goods, services, and works such as vehicles, construction equipment, farm equipment, office buildings/space, office supplies and consumables, office furniture and equipment, insurance, etc., that are critical for the smooth implementation of operations.

Hysper recognizes that options to reduce deforestation and forest degradation include strengthening and enhancing management and governance of forest at the local level taking into account the different needs of men, women, youth and vulnerable populations. Specifically, Hysper has in place core investment priorities 1) Conservation of high-value forest areas, 2) Promotion of resilient landscapes, sustainable agriculture and energy. Hysper also highlights the importance of gender considerations and effective knowledge management. Furthermore, Hysper has highlighted to reduce deforestation and forests degradation using the landscape approach, thus addressing competing interests of various land users.

Hysper Youth Enterprise aims to support conservation and management of forests as well restoration through investment in needs of local communities which include function local level management structures, ecotourism, general enterprises, and good agricultural practices, markets and market linkages. The needs also include addressing energy biomass through appropriate supply and usage. The overall is to address undress underlying drivers of deforestation by providing alternatives in terms of good practices as well as well as sources of income.  Hysper Youth Enterprise ensures that the best possible climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental and biodiversity conservation, and improved livelihoods.

This project is transmitting electricity generated from Biogas to 3000 Households, Distributing Biogas through gas bags to 5000 customers and 2000 smallholder farmers Biogas Slurry for organic fertilizers. Hysper is specialized in Conservation Agriculture Experimental Techniques for substitutes to Chemical Fertilizers, over dependence on fossil fuels on farms, wood and charcoal fuels used for cooking in almost a 3 Billion Lower Income Households. 

The proposed solution of setting up a biogas production plant is expected to achieve its results at lower cost to a greater extent. Biogas is going to be the center for solving a number of problems and will bring solutions like; clean energy, organic fertilizers, skills acquisition, job creation and income generation. The project will start by installing a bio-digester and pig production, development of water source for the bio digester and pig production. Czech technology will be used. The youth will be trained by the Czech experts in Biogas production, biogas based electricity production, efficient pig production practices, abattoir management and small scale meat processing. Training of local youths on how to construct, and maintain the bio-digester, will help in localizing the technology in rural households in Zambia. The bio-digester will produce two main by-products that are gas and organic fertilizer of which the gas will cater for household uses such as cooking and water heating. It will also be used for electricity production where technological expertise will be passed on to the youths to sustainably operate the production, thereby creating jobs for the youths and empowering them. Making electricity available is envisaged as a stimulus to small scale manufacturing that will promote income generation. There is also a potential future income generation opportunity of selling electricity to the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO). 

The pivotal activity of this project is the establishment of pig production as a guaranteed source of raw material for the Biogas production. This is an avenue for value addition – small scale abattoir and meat product processing, pig production skills acquisition for the youth and capital generation for future scaling out and ensuring long term sustainability and community uptake. Hydroponic fodder for pig production will be produced from field crops that will be grown using the slurry and solid digestate. The project intends to grow maize, sunflower and soya beans. This is another potential opportunity for the youth to acquire skills and knowledge in effective pig production and crop production technologies from the Czech Republic. The biogas plant will also be training center for the community particularly youths to expand the idea so that it impacts the whole of Zambia, helping to achieve sustainable development goal number 8 which aims to ensure decent, full and productive employment.

The proposed solution will also see the establishment of a pig farm whose waste will be fed into the bio-digester, the growing of crops like maize, sunflower, millet and soya beans to produce hydroponic fodder to feed the pigs. The project also intends to use slurry irrigation to grow Napier
grass, rich in nutrients, to feed livestock in Zero grazing set up; and to produce energy in form of briquettes. The renewable napier briquettes will also be sold for income generation. The above describes gives an insight on how the youth and the local communities will benefit the project. The project is built on skills acquisition for posterity, creation of decent job opportunities, sustainable development and the uptake and implementation of environmentally friendly technologies.

Our aim is to ensure that Zambia deals away with the ineffective energy dependences and adapt to biogas as their source of primary source of energy to reduce deforestation by using climate smart source of energy and lighting. To achieve this, we will set up a training center where people particularly youths, will be trained in various technologies that are involved in the setting up and maintenance of bio-digesters for the purpose of replication. It is not each and every farmer who will be able to adopt the idea thus, it is going to be our duty to put it into practice in all provinces of Zambia.
The replication endeavor will be funded from the income from biogas production value chain (gas, electricity, solid fertilizer, silage, hay, hydroponic fodder) and pig production value chain abattoir, meat product processing) and paid green technology based livelihood skills training programmes.

The 2021 SDG Index and Dashboards Reports, gives Zambia a score of 53.4 and ranks it at number 141 among 165 countries. The vision of the Zambia people is to become a prosperous, middle-income nation by 2030. This proposed project brings outlines three clusters that include economic growth and wealth creation, social investment and human development and an enabling environment for social-economic development. In addition, our Biogas unit project is covering four pillars outlined in the eighth National Development Plan: (1) Economic Transformation and Job Creation; (2) Human and Social Development; (3) Environmental Sustainability; and (4) Good Governance. The 2021 Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 highlights factors that contribute to deforestation, CO2 emissions and loss soil Biodiversity. This is mainly due to: a) extensive crop production especially through slash-and-burn agriculture and increased forest conversion for energy, especially charcoal and firewood. In this project, marginalized and
disadvantaged youth groups will be supported to participate in economic activities through various interventions that include viable agriculture enterprises. Promoting the use of Biogas units in agriculture as a business.

The proposed project will stop deforestation in the sense that gas will be used as a primary source of clean energy compared to charcoal which is made from cutting down of trees and burning them, the climate change effects will be mitigated and climate restoration will take place. Introduction of organic fertilizers will also stop nomadic agriculture, which is also leading to deforestation when rural farmers clear land for cultivation. The project will lead to the creation of decent jobs for the youths of Zambia. This will positively impact the lives of Zambians as the standard salaries they get will help them purchase health insurances and above all the payment of taxes to the government means economic growth for Zambia. The availability of energy will give rise to value addition and other forms of small scale manufacturing.

The project results are expected to be visible within six months from the commencement. Gas utilization and the use of slurry for irrigated agriculture should have started. On site tours and training sessions will be organized and used to spread awareness. Project results will be presented at local agricultural fares; and through participation in educational radio programs, inviting local schools to visit the infrastructure; and utilizing the social media network. The organization will play an active role in the pig production value chain. A networking-centric approach will be used where the organization will engage with local stock- feed suppliers to amplify the benefits of zero-grazing and hydroponic fodder growing and utilization; and secure a buy-in from transporters to adopt the transport of piggery waste as a business venture in order to supply community members that will have set up Biogas plants at their homes.
Youth and women graduates from the Biogas production training program will be supported and encouraged to venture into the servicing and maintenance of community member biodigester.
This will be visibly created employment created.
Above all, this zero waste project will give the community an in-depth appreciation of how
“Thinking Green” can improve rural livelihoods. The organization will devise a tool for scaling out.

Purpose of the Theory o Change: To understand the specific are of interventions required to involve youth to participate in Climate resilience of through renewable energy value chains.

Vision: Resilient and Sustainable youth social inclusion and economic opportunities

Domains of change:

A. Capacity building (Biogas Power Generation, Distribution, Transmission): More investment in innovation and technology, minimal maintenance of standards leading to quality products, and adequate use of the abundant natural resources available in Zambia have impeded the sustainability of entrepreneurship in Zambia. Lack of knowledge to use technology is one of the main issues which forcing the youth to get stuck in their lives. Problem Addresses: skills shortages. 

B. Social Inclusion Networking and knowledge Exchange: In addition, challenges for young entrepreneurs in Zambia are more apparent and include, insufficient information on how to set up and run a business, inadequate mentorship and training opportunities, and an absence of focus on product innovation and process innovation. Create a strong ICT network or online among the youths which are working for the same goal.

C. Financial Support: The beneficiaries of the project and local
community are youth and they are not able afford the expenses of
inputs required to invest adequate amounts of money to pay for the
new technology. Problem Addressed : Lack of access to finance.

D. Adaptability: The local community should be open and accepting
of the change and willing to work hard towards a better result.
Without marketable skills or capabilities for lifelong learning
youth are condemned to persistent, deepening poverty. As a result,
innovative initiatives where young people are enabled and
empowered to co-create solutions that address unemployment and
job creation are imperative.

The project idea focuses mainly on restoring the climate, protecting the climate and mitigating climate changes that are being caused by human activities. These activities include the deforestation for firewood and charcoal making, which when burnt they produce gases that are harmful to the environment. We aim to replace chemical fertilizers that are expensive with organic fertilizers, which also after conducting some laboratory soil analysis, farmers can know and use the correct nutrients needed by their soil type. Youths and people with disabilities are our focal groups of people to work with in the implementation process. We will ensure women empowerment because 80% of the households are women-headed, as such empowering them will mean empowering the whole nation in everything, with high contribution in economic growth.

The market for the renewable green energy is already available, waiting for the project to start producing the products. Interdependent activities that will help us create value will ensure social sustainability of the project. These activities include growing of field crops for fodder production, growing of Napier grass for energy briquettes and feeding livestock. The pig production and meat processing facilities will ensure a continuous circulation of financial income for the sustainable running of the activities after the project ends. These finances will fund continuous training of youth and women and scaling out. The abattoir will also provide contract processing services for income generation. We also intend to acquire accreditation as a training center for Sustainable Development and Green Youth entrepreneurship. This should be another stream of income generation to finance these activities.

Access to renewable energy - The energy mix for Zambia is dominated by wood fuel which accounts for about 70% of fuel consumption, while electricity and petroleum account for about 10% and 9% respectively. UNDP is working with partners to strengthen the legislative environment to promote private sector engagement in renewable energy, as well as strengthening institutions in scaling up the use of renewable energy.

Livelihoods and Innovations – Hysper in Zambia is promoting innovative approaches that tackle the connected issues of multidimensional poverty, inequality and exclusion, and sustainability, while enhancing knowledge, skills and production technologies to enlarge peoples’ choices, reduce risks and sustain development gains. It is also supporting the capacity development of young people and youth-led organizations, and the development of youth caucuses in government, parliament and other bodies. The host organization for this Biogas for Green Entrepreneurship Project is owned by youths.

This Project has a framework Designed to construct a mini-Abattoir
operations to process, package, store and distribute livestock products
including beef, pork, milk, lamb and goat meat using modern technologies to
promote value addition. During the second phase of the project the waste
from the abattoir operations will be collected to feed into the installed
Biodigester to produce Biogas Electricity and manufacturing Solid Organic
Fertilizers from Biogas Slurry. Finally, during the third phase the project will
install the machinery that will add value to the grain produces.
This Biogas for Green Entrepreneurship Project championed by a youths in
the community. Charcoal is the main source of energy for cooking for over
90% of the Zambian population. Charcoal production has been identified as
the main driver of deforestation and land degradation in Zambia. This has
direct negative impacts on the climate. This proposed project of Biogas
production and by-product utilization is one of the solutions to this
deforestation and land degradation problem.

This project has a strong component for Green Entrepreneurship through
practical Experimental Techniques for Conserving Soil Nutrients and Land
Restoration. Biogas for Green Entrepreneurship Project intends to address
energy and fertilizer needs for rural communities and promote better
livelihoods through youth entrepreneurships in Zambia. The proposed
project provides a strong starting point and solution finding to rural who are
involved in agriculture activities. These Rural communities are one of the
most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
Primary Objectives
1. To preserve soil nutrients and biodiversity through the production of
quality organic fertilizers.
2. To introduce Biogas Energy to reduce carbon emissions caused by
overdependence on charcoal and firewood
3. To improve local livelihoods through market linkages created by value
addition technologies and environmental security adaptation.

The proposed project is an initiative to strengthen local community-based
institutions to come together to safeguard and conserve the local
biodiversity. The project will be implemented in a highly vulnerable project
site in Kapyanga Village Farm Block, which have been identified after a series
of stakeholder consultations and meetings with government officials.
The project aims to support conservation of soil nutrients in the yields and
management of forests as well as restoration trees through investing in the
modern biodigester that will process organic raw materials into needs of the
local communities which include off-grid energy, organic fertilizers, good
agriculture practices, livestock value addition and market linkages. The
needs also include addressing energy biomass through appropriate supply
and usage of Biogas Energy for cooking, heating and lighting electrical
appliances and storage cooling fridge. In addition, this project will address
the overall environmental problem caused by shifting cultivation that has
been identified as the main underlying driver of deforestation practiced by
farmers who happen to abandon their yields to the new fields in search of fertile soils.

Kapyanga Settlement Block is located in Mumbwa District, Central Province of Zambia. Kapyanga Settlement Scheme has over 700 households and it is surrounded by 25 villages of indigenous people. Most of people in this territory are women and youths who limited have access renewable and value addition.

In Kapyanga there are more than 7000 heard of cattle, 15000 goats, 35000
chickens, 3000 pigs and 1000 ships. Smallholder farmers they rarely realize
the economic benefits from the livestock, they sell animals when they
old and mostly by this time animals have less market value. The mini- Abattoir has the potential to leverage the economic growth within the local markets and supply to Lusaka City.

In this area about the whole 700 households are using charcoal and firewood as source of energy to cook, heat and light their homes. The construction of a Biogas plant and generating of energy will serve the trees within the community. On the other hand the production organic fertilizers from a Biogas plant slurry will play a huge restore soil nutrients and substitute chemical fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers are getting very expensive and they polluting land and destroying Biodiversity.

Grain Grinder and mixture machinery is well suited for Kapyanga Area following a huge harvest grain produce by the local farmers. The value chains
they end up benefiting other players located in urban areas and local people
they only participate on farms. Manufacturing and processing is very import.

About 600 farmers in Kapyanga are produce grain, they layer animals and they have no access to electricity. Kapyanga is situated in a place where farm products can easily be transported to urban markets especially Lusaka and Mumbwa Town. The gas will be supplier to more than 700 households including from the neighboring communities. Processed farm products will be supplied to more than 6000 consumers living in urban areas.

Hysper Youth Enterprise has competitors including Zam Beef, Shoprite and Choppies. There is an organization called SNV Netherlands Development Organization. Since 2013, SNV is one of international institution that is building the Bio-digester market in Zambia. SNV Zambia has trained 42 masons - men and women in Bio-digester construction, maintenance and
marketing. SNV Zambia technology supports off-grid, smallholder dairy
farmers who needs to chill their milk overnight before delivering to the milk
collection centers, and provides additional benefits in bio-slurry - an
organic Fertilizer that improves crop and fodder production, and energy for
lighting and cooking on-farm.

This Biogas for Green Entrepreneurship Project has a strong commitment and places a high priority towards youth development and empowerment, underscoring the importance of youth participation in the local Entrepreneurship development. Young people are recognized as a force for transformational change, and investments in young people are a central to achieving equitable economic growth, shared prosperity and reducing poverty.

1. Land Restoration
Since 2017, Hysper has restored 100 hectors of land and by 2030 we aim to restore more 500 hectors of land through agro-forestry and conservation agriculture experimental techniques for substitutes to chemical fertilizers.

2. Forestry Restoration
Since 2018, we have planted more than hundred thousand (100, 000) fruit and timber trees (5000 Mukwa, 10, 000 oranges, 75, 000 grapes, 10, 000 lemons and produced 50 000 tons of green beans, 75 potatoes and 100 000 onions. By 2030 we aim to plant more one million fruit and timber trees. 

3. Solar Power Generation
Since 2019, Hysper has supplied and distributed more than ten thousand (10, 000) solar panels and lighting lamps. In addition, this project has created more fifteen thousand job in rural and urban areas in Zambia and its neighboring countries. By 2030 we aim to supply, distribute and install more one million solar panels.

Since 2019, Hysper has implemented projects focusing on development landscape to address land degradation and deforestation that has become
increasingly complex.
Project Title: Harnessing Youth Potential for Transformational Impact for SDG and COVID 19 Economic Recovery.
Project Funder: UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Project Context: Addressing challenges affecting the young entrepreneurs in Zambia including lack of access to finance, skills shortages, insufficient information on how to set up and run a business, inadequate mentorship and training opportunities, and an absence of focus on product innovation and process. These challenges had been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which further led to negative impacts on small-scale businesses in non-agricultural sectors, with people losing their jobs, or having to downsize or completely close their businesses.

Contacts for Funders: Lauraine Munkanta \ lauraine.munkanta@undp.org \ +260978056237
Project Title: “Building Sustainable Livelihoods and Adapting to Climate Change”
Project Funder: World Bank Group Lusaka Country Office
Project Context: Through this project, FCF aimed to initiate a multi stakeholder dialogue to develop a community-based adaptation strategy for the communities if Zambia. The project is in line with the existing issues being faced by the local populace of the area and would focus efforts towards the following: Increasing awareness on linkages between climate change and food security. Improving food security through adoption of climate smart agriculture practices.
Donor Contact Point: Zivanemoyo Chinzara/ zchinzara@ifc.org / +12029147566
Project Title: Strengthening Community Based Institutions for Biodiversity
Conservation
Project Funder: IFAD
Project Context: The proposed project was an initiative to strengthen local community-based institutions to come together to safeguard and conserve the local biodiversity. The project was implemented in 10 highly vulnerable project sites in South East Mumbwa, which was identified
after a series of stakeholder consultations and meetings with government officials.
Donor contact point: kaoma1966@yahoo.com \ +260962315572