IFAD Biogas support Mission in Rwanda

IFAD
BIOGAS SUPPORT MISSION

Rwanda

Consultant: Gerard Hendriksen

November 2011

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Table of Contents

1. Background........................................................................................................................................... 1

2. National Domestic Biogas Programme in Rwanda.......................................................................... 2
2.1 Background ....................................................................................................................................... 2
2.2 NDBP Activities................................................................................................................................. 2
2.3 Construction of digesters................................................................................................................... 3

3. Kirehe district ....................................................................................................................................... 6
3.1 Number of digesters constructed ....................................................................................................... 6
3.2 District performance plan ................................................................................................................. 7
3.3 Construction companies .................................................................................................................... 8
3.4 Banque Populaire of Rwanda ........................................................................................................... 8
3.5 Awareness and promotion ................................................................................................................. 9

4. KWAMP support to Biogas ................................................................................................................ 9

5. Way forward ....................................................................................................................................... 11

6. Estimated budget................................................................................................................................ 12

List of tables
Table 1: Targets and number of digesters constructed in 2010 and 2011
Table 2: Overall status of the program
Table 3: Digesters Constructed in Kirehe district per sector.
Table 4: Kirehe Districts Performance Plan
Table 5: Number of cattle in Kirehe district per sector.
Table 6: Targets for new digesters per year
Table 7: Estimated budget for biogas sector

Annexes
Annex 1: Documentation consulted
Annex 2: Persons consulted during the mission
Annex 3: ToR Biogas Field Technician
Annex 4: Bill of Quantities and average costs of biogas digester of 6 mtr3 Annex
Annex 5: Photographs of Chinese and masonry digesters

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IFAD biogas report Nov11 i

1. Background
Introduction
KWAMP is an agricultural investment project implemented by MINAGRI, co-financed
by IFAD, WFP and the Government of Rwanda. It became effective on 30 April 2009,
and is due for completion in June 2016. Its overall objective is the development of
sustainable profitable small-scale commercial agriculture in Kirehe District. The total
cost of the project is estimated at USD 49.3 million. The current IFAD grant
commitment amounts to USD 26.77 million. It operates in Kirehe district and aims at
reaching 22 500 direct and 10 000 indirect beneficiaries.
One of KWAMP’s outputs focuses on increased efficiency in livestock production and
includes the use of biogas to reduce consumption of fire wood. The project’s logframe
calls for the installation and operation of 1500 digesters in the district. So far
KWAMP’s activities in biogas have hardly started. Instead biogas was introduced in the
Kirehe district through the national biogas program implemented by the energy sector
of the Ministry of Infrastructure.
IFAD is planning a Project for Pro-poor Uplifting of the Service Economy
(PROPULSE) that would build on achievements in the agricultural and livestock sectors
to link Rwanda’s rural economy to its overall growth. It would focus on strengthening
rural economic activities, especially private services including input and output markets
and rural finance.

Terms of Reference
The consultant was requested to refine the plans by KWAMP to support the introduction
of household biogas digesters in Kirehe dictrict, which is also a prospective area of the
PROPULSE program. Specific responsibilities include:
1. Review the progress of the SNV biogas programme;
2. Review the concrete biogas plans by KWAMP;
3. Prepare a model investment plan for a small-scale biogas digester;
4. Propose a practical support arrangement for KWAMP to determine eligible
households for participating, the support provided consistent with other national
programmes, the roles and responsibilities for the district and the project staff,
M&E arrangements, training requirements, and the role of a possible service
provider; and
5. Prepare the draft Terms of Reference for a possible service provider.

Report overview
Chapter 2 of the report describes the National Domestic Biogas Program which has
introduced and disseminated domestic biogas since 2007. Chapter 3 focuses on the
situation in Kirehe district while chapter 4 highlights the biogas objectives and that were
programmed in the KWAMP program. The way forward has been described in chapter
5 and the report concludes with an estimated budget for the planned activities to support
the development of the market for biogas.

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IFAD biogas report Nov11 1

2. National Domestic Biogas Programme in Rwanda

2.1 Background
MININFRA with technical assistance from SNV, the Netherlands Development
Organisation and funding from GTZ started the National Domestic Biogas Program
(NDBP). SNV has long experience in Nepal and other Asian countries with biogas
and an important reason for choosing Rwanda as the first country Africa, was the
high number of households owning 2 -3 dairy cows under zero grazing conditions.
The initial target of the project was 15,000 digesters by 2011 but this figure proved far
too high for the program. At this point in time less than 2000 digesters have been
completed.

The NDBP is implemented through MININFRA Energy Sector and SNV is providing
technical assistance. Up till mid 2011 the program was based in the Ministry’s offices
but after the restructuring and the establishment of EWASA (Energy, Water and
Sanitation Agency), all development projects moved to a new location in Remera.

The program has been funded by the GIZ which has since 2008 supported the program
costs and 75% of the subsidy paid the farmers. The Government provides the remaining
25% of the subsidy. The current support of GIZ is being negotiated but in the meantime
the Government has fully integrated the program in the Ministry’s annual planning and
the MTEF and funding is secured for the financial year 2011/12 and expected to be
continuing thereafter.

NDBP has 22 staff employed by EWASA, 16 of them field staff placed in districts
(although currently only 11 positions are filled). The technicians are equipped with a
motor cycle for transport to facilitate the visits the farmers, attend promotion activities
and carry out quality control of digesters constructed by the private contractors.

2.2 NDBP Activities
The main activities of the program can be summarised as follows:
1) Promotion to create awareness through
 workshops and meetings with local authorities
 mass media campaigns (radio, TV, print, billboards, posters etc
 NGOs such as LWF, Heifer, EADD, Vi-Life as well as the BPR.
2) Training focussing on contractors, masons, plumbers. NDBP works together
with technical colleges in Kigali and the regions to support these trainings. In
total over 300 masons and plumbers have attended these theoretical and practical
programs (although not all have stayed in the biogas business thereafter). By
2011 the program had over 50 companies who are active in the market. In each
district there is at least one active company which is officially accredited by the
program. .
3) Training of farmers and users through the contractor as part of his contract and
following the completion of each digester. The program retains the final payment
for 12 months..
4) Quality control of the biogas construction in the field by the field technicians.
At least three visits are planned as follows:
 When the construction of the dome (and masonry works) is completed
 When the plumbing is completed and the stove is functioning
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 After one year the guaranty period of 12 months
Poor performing contractors are initially requested to improve their records and
correct their mistakes. If they do not comply, they are removed from the program
5) Provision of subsidy; for each completed digester that complies with the
standards of the program, an investment subsidy is paid of Rwf 300,000 (this is
about 35% of the average investment costs)
6) Collaboration with the Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR): a special credit
line ahs been developed with the BPR which can give up top Rwf 300,000 loan
for a digester constructed under the program.
7) Monitoring of the progress and maintaining of a national data base of the units
completed and under construction.

2.3 Construction of digesters

2.3.1 Construction costs, government subsidy and bank credit
Construction costs
The NDBP promotes a biogas digester constructed out of locally available materials,
stones, gravel, sand, cement and the necessary hardware. Sizes vary from 4 – 12 m3
depending on the number of cows and the household requirements. The most popular
model remains the digester of the 6 mtr3 which normally fits a family with 2 -3 cows and
4 – 6 members. Annex 4 provides a typical bill of quantity and the estimated costs of a 6
m3 digester. The actual construction costs of the digester depends on the location the
costs of the materials and labour and is usually between Rwf 700,00 and 900,000. Over
the last year, the program is testing different options to further reduce the costs while
maintaining a minimum quality. However, costs remain relatively high as compared to
other countries in the region. The price of cement is an important factor as it is the single
biggest item in the construction. SNV is currently testing the use of Interlocking
Stabilised Soil Bricks in different countries in Africa as a possibility to reduce the
consumption of cement and reduce the overall costs by 20 – 25%.

Subsidy
NDBP provides an investment subsidy of Rwf 300,000 for each digester that is
constructed by a trained and accredited contractor and meets the quality standards. The
subsidy is equal for all digester size as it is expected that households that are opting for
larger digesters, will have the extra means to pay for the extra costs themselves.

The subsidy is disbursed to the contractors in 3 trances depending on the advance made
during construction. Before any payments are made, the farmer and the field technician
have to approve the claim. The subsidy is paid either through the Ministry’s account (an
since mid this year through EWASA) or paid by the Banque Populaire (BPR) on behalf
of the program for those households which have been provided with a loan.

Bank Credit
In May 2009, MININFRA signed an Agreement with BPR setting out the
collaboration between Ministry and the Bank in the provision of biogas credit to
households. Farmers applying for the loan are screened by the program to see if they
meet the technical conditions (such as number of animals, stable, location, availability
of the building materials such as sand, stones etc) and by BPR to check their credit
worthiness. The maximum bank loan is Rwf 300,000 for any size of digester although

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there have been negotiations to increase this amount for farmers who want bigger
systems.

Once the bank loan is approved, the BPR disburses both the Government subsidy
(which is held in a special account at the bank on behalf of MINIFRA) as well as the
credit, to the contractor’s account according to the progress of the work. Normally this
is done in 4 steps:
a. Rwf 300,000 at the start of the contract
b. Rwf 150,000 after completion of the dome
c. Rwf 135,000 after completing the installation
d. Rwf 15,000 guarantee money that will be paid after one year
The field technicians of NDBP are responsible for inspecting the works and signing
the completion forms at each step before the bank will proceed with payments.

Carbon credits
Following the experience of SNV in Asia countries, the Rwandan National Domestic
Biogas has been working on a program to take advantage of the reduction in carbon
emissions. A proposal was developed together for HIVOS (Humanist Institute for
Development Cooperation) from the Netherlands which has been supporting biogas
programs in Asia and Africa since many years. HIVOS offered to buy the carbon
emissions through the voluntary market for a period of 10 years for the first 2000
completed digesters. A first validation survey was carried out in 2009. The Contract
with HIVOS is unfortunately not yet finalised and is currently scrutinised by the
Rwandan Development Board.

2.3.2 Progress of National Domestic Biogas Program
Pilot Phase
MININFRA funded the construction of pilot biogas digesters in 2007 /8 of 100 digesters
after the completion of the first training in four districts close to Kigali. For these
digesters, farmers’ contribution was only about Rwf 200,000 while the remaining costs
were supported by the Ministry. These pilot digesters were constructed in four districts
surrounding Kigali city to facilitate close supervision.
.
Fibre glass program
During the pilot phase, MININFRA decided in 2007 to test prefabricated Fibre Glass
Digesters (FGD) made in China. The expectations were to reduce the construction time
and to minimize quality assurance issues. MININFRA imported 100 FGDs of 6 mtr3
each early 2008 and these came together with all the necessary tools and accessories
from China where the technology has been used for a number of years. In addition, team
of Chinese experts came to Rwanda for 2 months to train technicians and to install the
first 10 units in Kirehe district which was the area selected by the Ministry. In total 76
digesters were completed and all these were installed in Kirehe and neighbouring Ngoma
district.

A comparative study has been carried out in Sept 2009 and it was found that the FGDs
were performing well but that their overall costs and construction time did not favour the
continuation of the import of pre fabricated digesters. Since then the program has fully
focused on the construction of the masonry type of digesters the so-called modified GCC
models. Unfortunalty, at a later stage in 2010/11, the fibre glass digesters started to
show problems and most were reported no longer functioning during the time of the
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mission. NDBP has sent its senior technician who introduced a simple modification
which seems to address the problem as discussed in the next chapter of this report.

Number of digesters completed
The NDBP is now operating in all 30 districts in the country although there are wide
differences in the uptake of the technology. Progress in construction has been much
slower than was anticipated in the original project document which asked for 15,000
digesters within a period of 4 years. The table 1 below shows the construction targets
and the realisations on a monthly basis for the past two years. These data are provided by
the program and entered on the website http://sites.google.com/site/biogas4all/home
which shows the performance of the other 8 African countries where SNV is now
implementing a biogas program. Among those, Kenya is the leader with a target of 2,200
digesters for 2011 and it is likely to exceed this figure by end of the year.

The monthly production figures in Rwanda show big variations over the year. The
variations maybe attributed to seasonal influences as well as organisational issues.

Table 1: Targets and number of digesters constructed in 2010 and 2011

Total
April

May
Mar

Sept
July

Aug

Nov
Jun
Feb

Dec
Jan

Oct
Year 2010
Target 25 35 40 47 48 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 1035
Completed 57 44 13 37 48 60 82 83 52 43 45 63 627
target
Year 2011
Target 65 80 80 90 100 105 105 105 110 120 120 120 1200
Completed 33 50 81 65 82 84 79 80 43 73 670

Table 2: Overall status of the program
Information Status up to
September 2011
Number of biogas installations 1, 592
installed in the country
Of which: Number of Chinese 76
digesters
Bank loans provided by BPR 328
Numbers of biogas installations 45
under construction
Program working in 22 districts

2.3.3 Decentralisation of activities
Over the past years there have been discussions within the NDBP team on how to
involve other partners in the program and how further involve the districts in line with
the District Performance Plans.
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This issue has been discussed in the project Steering Committee but was not further
developed due to a lack of resources. The districts do include domestic biogas in their
annual performance plans and the mayors of the districts signed a performance
contract with the President of the Republic. In the year 2009/10 the total target was
1,139 in all the 30 districts but only 586 were recorded as completed in the contracts.
For the year 2010/11, the mayors seem to have been more cautious and they have set a
much lower target of 544 digesters. A number of districts have not even mentioned
biogas in their annual contract.

Although the program increased the number of field technicians from 5 to 16 in
October last year, this is still not enough to cover every district. Ideally each district
would have its own technician for the biogas program responsible to the district
authorities while NDBP would play a coordinating and advisory role. A pilot
approach will be needed to ensure that the right experience is available before rolling
out a selected approach. Kirehe district might offer such an opportunity with support
of the KWAMP program.

3. Kirehe district
3.1 Number of digesters constructed
As mentioned above the construction of biogas digesters in Kirehe started as early as
2008 with the installation of Chinese, prefabricated fibre glass digesters. In total 56 units
were installed in Kirehe district and this process was completed by 2009. Since then the
program has focussed on the construction of the masonry type digesters (the so called
modified GCC) which are used in all other SNV programs.

Table 3: Digesters Constructed in Kirehe district per sector.

masonry digesters
Chinese
Sector demo BPR LWF Own subt Total
FGD
digesters loans subsidy finance total
Gahara 5 2 2 7
Gatore 6 1 9 10 16
Kigarama 9 1 10 10
Kigina 4 1 5 1 7 11
Kirehe 19 1 1 20
Mahama 1 10 11 11
Mpanga 2 0 2
Musaza 1 1 1 3 3
Mushikira 1 1 1
Mushikiri 9 1 3 4 13
Nasho 10 1 1 11
Ngarama 1 1 1
Nyamugali 1 2 3 3
Nyamugari 2 1 4 1 6 8
Nyarubuye 1 1 1
Total 57 10 31 14 6 61 118
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The Chinese FGDs were the first digesters constructed in the district as mentioned earlier
in the report. Unfortunately almost all the FGDs are now out of order for technical
reasons. Recently, the senior NDBP biogas technician has modified the digester of one
household in Gatore (Celestine Bugingo) costing Rwf 60,000. This seems to have solved
the problem and the farmer was very happy with the digester’s performance when the
consultant visited the place.

For demonstration purposes the program later constructed 10 masonry type digesters in
households of model farmers. The NDBP supported the construction with Rwf 600,000
subsidy instead of the usual Rwf 225000. NDBP also worked together with Lutheran
World Federation which supported the construction of 100 digesters in selected
households. In those cases, LWF contributed another Rwf 200,000 per digester as extra
subsidy on top of the Rwf 300,000 paid by NDBP. In Kirehe, 14 households profited
from this arrangement. By this time, these programs with extra subsidy are no longer
available.

The table shows the big differences between the different secteurs with Mpanga,
Musaza, Ngarama, Nyamugali and Nyarubuye have 3 or less digesters. It is not
immediately clear why there is such a big variation between the sectors. This could be
due to the numbers of dairy cows, less awareness or other factors which need further
investigation.

Kirehe district has a large number of bank loans compared to other districts. Taking into
account that during the construction of the Chinese fibre glass digesters, no bank credit
was available, this means that over 50% of the new customers have managed to obtain a
credit which about double the national figure. It has been mentioned that this has been
due to the very active contractors, who have assisted potential customers to access the
bank credit and the support of the field technician who was responsible for bothe Kirehe
and Ngoma districts. Unfortunately in August this year, the field technician resigned
from the National Program as he went for further studies. Since then there has been not
direct support from the program in Kirehe and this might partly explain the very low
construction figures over the last months. From July this year, only 8 digesters have been
completed.

3.2 District performance plan
The districts performance plan (Imihigo) for Kirehe district for 2011/12, item no 23
mentions as objective “Increased access and use of alternative energy” . The details are
shown below in the table below

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Table 4: Kirehe Districts Performance Plan 2011/12

Objective Increased access and use of alternative
(Item 23 of Imihigo) energy
Output Biogas plants established increased to
180 units for climate change mitigation
Indicator Number of new biogas plants established
Baseline 85 biogas plants in use.
Target 180 households with biogas and 3
secondary schools
Responsible In charge of environment and water
Costs (Rwf) Rwf 21,600,000
Source of funds District/ KWAMP

According to the records of the district, only 8 new digesters have been completed
since the beginning of July 2011. The table above seems to indicate that for this
financial year 95 new digesters need to be constructed although in the discussion with
the district authorities, the figure of 180 NEW digesters was mentioned. Whatever, the
target, it clear that this will not be met if the rate of construction remains the same as
over the last 5 months (about 1 per month). Instead the rate should increase to 15 – 20
per month.

Already the district has held some meetings together with the coordinator of NDBP. A
list of 200 interested farmers compiled by the district authorities (prepared by the
Officer in charge of Environment and Water) was suppose to be communicated before
21st October but so far has not been received. U

3.3 Construction companies
Two construction companies are currently active in the Kirehh district.
a) RENTECH contact Joseph 0788 406 248 and
b) CEE, Abdul Karim, 0788 469661

Unfortunately the consultant did not manage to meet those two companies and telephone
conversations were not possible because of the language barriers. However, it is
understood that the companies have performed very well over the past years and that
their capacity is not the bottleneck at the moment. Even when real demand would
increase dramatically over the coming months, NDBP can encourage contractors from
neighbouring Ngoma district to come in and help fill the gap. At the same time new
contractors and their staff from Kirehe can be included in the regular training programs
by NDBP.

3.4 Banque Populaire of Rwanda
The consultant visited the BPR office in Kirehe and also met the branch manager (mr
Gatete). The bank accountant showed records for 38 customers that are supported by the
BPR . This is higher than the records of BPR loans (31 in number) shown in the NDBP
database. The reason could be that the BPR in some cases pays the subsidy on behalf of
the Ministry as was agreed in the MoU between the two parties. The subsidy amount of
Rwf 300,000 is paid in three tranches of Rwf 150,000 and of Rwf 135,000. The
remaining Rwf 15,000 is security money and held for at least one year.

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At the moment no other credit facilities, apart from BPR, are available to households
who want to construct a biogas digester. However, the district and the program might
want to explore the interest and possibilities of other MFIs such as Vision Finance
(supported by the World Vision and operating from 9 offices in the country, soon to be
expanded to 17 offices) and the Umurenge SACCOs which are supported by the
districts.

3.5 Awareness and promotion
Despite all the national awareness campaigns by the NDBP that have been conducted for
about 3 years on radio, TV, bill boards as well as meetings with district authorities and
other stakeholders, many in the district claim that, surprisingly, many farmers are still
not aware of biogas. The consultant was not in a position to verify this claim but clearly
it is an issue that needs attention.

The consultant visited the CCI (Centre of Innovation and Communication) in Gatore
which has been in operation for 6 months now. CCI has the objective to inform farmers
on new technologies. However, the consultant did not find any reference to biogas in the
display boards or anywhere else in the CCI. This seems a missed opportunity and can
easily be corrected.

The BPR branch manager was of the opinion that the presence of a good field technician
is essential to ensure effective promotion and follow up with the client farmers,
contractors, the bank and the national program. He stated that this support was not
available over the last months (as the field technician of the national program left the
service to go for further studies). The branch manager also suggested that more
awareness creation needs to be carried out through the local authorities through their
regular meetings with the population.

Through KWAMP, the NGO Heifer Projects International (HPI) is also running a
program in Kirehe, “One family, One cow” offering support to improve breeding stock,
veterinary services etc. Heifer has about 30 field technicians in the country and 10 are
stationed in Kirehe district. The head office claimed that their field staff have little
knowledge of the biogas program, which again looks surprising as Heifer has even been
involved when the national biogas program was created. Because of the direct contact
the Heifer technicians have with the livestock farmers, they seem an obvious means to
increase awareness and it was suggested that NDBP will attend the 6 monthly, national
meetings of the Heifer staff as well as use the 10 field staff in Kirehe more effectively.

4. KWAMP support to Biogas
The KWAMP program design document from 2008 includes a working paper (no 4) on
livestock development. This also includes a proposal on the introduction of biogas and
relevant information is presented below.

The table 5 below shows the livestock population in Kirehe district divided over the
sectors. There are no details on the number of animal per household or on zero grazing.
However, if we assume 3 traditional cows required for a biogas installation, then the
maximum number of households would be around 4,000. In reality this will be much
lower as many families only have 1- 2 cows, making investment in biogas unattractive

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till the number of animals increase. Some will have bigger herds and therefore
decreasing the number of households that are technical attractive for biogas.

Table 5: Number of cattle in Kirehe district per sector.

Secteur Vaches hybrides Vaches Total
modernes traditionnelles
GAHARA 24 33 594 651
GATORE 6 24 797 827
KIGARAMA 3 17 1159 1179
KIGINA 19 45 923 987
KIREHE 17 36 760 813
MAHAMA 11 20 382 413
MPANGA 23 62 1704 1789
MUSAZA 19 50 1178 1247
MUSHIKIRI 22 120 1757 1899
NASHO 3 79 1095 1177
NYAMUGARI 9 50 794 853
NYARUBUYE 7 28 1017 1052
Total 163 564 12160 12887
Source: Monographie du District de Kirehe 2007

One of the outputs of KWAMP mentioned in the working paper is access for 2,000
households to biogas digesters producing gas for cooking and lighting as well as high
quality fertiliser in the form of improved manure. In view of the above figures on the
number households having cattle in the district and the experience with the technology
nationwide, it is unlikely that the target of 2000 digesters in Kirehe will be achieved the
end of the KWAMP program in 2016. A figure of 600 – 800 seems attainable provided
al conditions are in place. One of the main constraints are the high upfront investment
costs for biogas (as is common for renewable energy in general) which do not directly
translate into more income for the family (as a hybrid cow would do) but instead
improve quality of live and increases convenience.

The document further provides details on the proposed activities to ensure the
construction of biogas digesters. Reference is made to the National Domestic Biogas
Program which started mid 2007 by MINIFRA with technical assistance from SNV and
largely funded by GTZ. The document refers to the experience in China (which is by far
the largest user of small biogas systems in the world) and it proposes the use of Chinese
pre fabricated units as well as locally built masonry units. The working papers estimates
the costs of $250 per unit. The comparative study between FGD and masonry units
carried out in 2009, estimated the total cost of a FGD including its accessories, transport
from China to Rwanda, construction materials of pre-treatment tank, and cost of
installation at about Rwf 760,000 ($1250) while the masonry unit was calculated to be
Rwf 623,000 ($1,050)

The KWAMP working document proposed a 50% subsidy towards the monetary costs
of the biogas construction. However, based on $250 it would be much less than the Rwf
300,000 ($500) currently provided by NDBP.

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In view of the expertise currently available in the NDBP and the progress made so far
(albeit much slower than was planned), it will be advisable for KWAMP to effectively
join hands with the national program in order to stimulate developments in Kirehe
district in particular as well as to gain experience for future other IFAD supported
programs.

Improved cookstoves as a complementary effort.
Within the overall objective of reducing the consumption of fuel wood, the District and
KWAMP may in future also want to consider to strengthen the dissemination of
improved cookstoves . Again, the CCIs could play an important role in making them
better known and understood. Improved stoves have a considerable potential to reduce
the consumption of fuel wood as well as reduction of indoor air pollution, a mayor cause
of premature deaths, especially for women and children. In addition, households can
reduce the work load for searching firewood and/or expenses to buy such fuels.
Improved stoves are relatively low investments (from $ 5- 50 depending on the type,
quality and the size) and are an option for those households who do not have cattle.
There are already a number of programs and initiatives in Rwanda, for instance through
EWASA of Ministry of Infrastructure, using a market driven approach for the
dissemination of improved cookstoves and these avenues can be further explored. It
would contribute to the district’s objective of reducing firewood consumption and would
be complementary to the biogas program

5. Way forward
The consultant discussed the possible actions in a joint meeting with the Districts
Authorities (Vice Major and Executive Secretary) and the coordinator of the National
Domestic Biogas Program. The following are suggested;

1) Modification of the non functioning fibre glass digesters (about 50 in number)
which can be repaired at a relatively low costs of Rwf 60,000. The District
Authorities will call a meeting of the owners of those digesters, during which staff of
the NDBP will explain the suggested modifications, the costs involved and the
support to be provided by NDBP through its technicians.

2) Immediate recruitment of a biogas field technician (grade A1). He/she will be
employed by the district and provided with a motor cycle and other necessary
equipment as per standards of NDBP. A draft ToR has been attached in the annexes

The field technician can be either a) recruited with the support of the NDBP which
has already started the process of recruiting 4 – 5 field staff and this should be
completed by end Nov 2011 or b) selected among the 40 or so field staff already
available within the district, a person who meets the necessary qualifications. NDBP
can help in the selection procedures.

3) Increased awareness and promotional activities through direct meetings with
farmers, collaborating partners (such as CCI staff, Heifer, ENAS etc), local
authorities. The biogas technician will be responsible for setting up such a program.
He/she may be assisted by the NDBP. The program will support exchange visits for
interested farmers from sectors where there are few digesters, to see operating units
in neighbouring areas.
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4) Training of new biogas companies and technicians through the NDBP and SNV
regular programs. This should also include management training: preparing of
business plans, marketing, accounting and cash flow management.

A first training session for 15 contractors is planned for early December (contact
NDBP/SNV) and it would be good if 1 or 2 of the Kirehe companies could
participate. The training will include linkages with MFIs.

5) Testing of cheaper construction technologies in collaboration with NDBP. The
program wants to test the Interlocking Stabilised Soil Blocks which offers the
potential of reducing cement consumption. KWAMP can assist NDBP in the
provision of limited funds to procure the necessary tools (from Kenya or Uganda) as
well as supporting bringing experts from the region as recommended by NDBP/
SNV.

It is expected that with the proposed technical support, increased awareness campaigns
and the continuous availability of subsidy through the national program, the total number
of new digesters could reach 750 units in the 5 years counting from July 2011. However,
this will not be an easy task and requires commitments of al concerned, not in the least of
the farming households who have to pay the largest share of the investment.

Table 6: Targets for new digesters per year

Year Target
2011/12 100
2012/13 130
2013/14 150
2014/15 170
2015/16 200
total 750

6. Estimated budget
The table below provides an overview of the costs to support the biogas program for the
period of January 2012 – June 2014. This is in addition to the subsidies and other
activities which are provided under the National Domestic Biogas Program.

Table 7: Estimated budget for biogas sector

Activities to support biogas sector Estimated costs
1 Modification and repair of existing FGDs (costs paid by the farmer, technical
support by NDBP) $0
2 Field technician Rwf 300,000 /month including fuel etc, 30 months $13,000
equipment, motorbike, laptop, GPS etc $5,500
3 Promotional activities (to be covered by district budget?) $5,000
4 Company training and support through NDBP and SNV $4,000
5 Testing of interlocking bricks for biogas and water tanks $8,000
Estimated total $37,500
___________________

___________________

ANNEXES

Annex 1: Documentation consulted

1. IMIHIGO Kirehe district 2011-12
2. KWAMP working Document 4, 2008
3. Monographie du District de Kirehe 2007
4. Comparative study on Performance of Fibre Glass Digesters and Masonry Digesters
installed in Rwanda, November 2009
5. Rwanda SNV_Biogas Implementation Plan final Aug06
6. Biogas baseline report Nov07
7. NDBP validation report final_Feb10
8. Hivos Carbon credit proposal _July09

___________________

Annex 2: Persons consulted during the mission

Name Position Name email tel
Organisation
Tihabyona Vice major Kirehe District tihabyona09@yahoo.fr 0788 469 780
Jean de Dieu economics,
Eric Zikama Executive Kirehe District zikameric@yahoo.fr 0788 744 569
Secretary
Janvier Project IFAD, gasasira@gmail.com +250 (788) 30
Gasasira Coordinator PAPSTA/KWAM 7522
P
André Field KWAMP agabruce@gmail.com 0788 304 392
Ndagijiman Coordinator
a
Josef Engineer KWAMP, Kirehe njosephkan@gmail.com 0788 601 314
Gatete Branch BPR Kirehe emmagatete@gmail.com 0788 682 682
manager
Deo Agronomist ENAS, Kirehe 0788 742 575
Umurerwa program Heifer International umurerwa_sese@yahoo.fr 0788 585 620
Seraphine officer
Jost Uwase Manager CCI Gatore, Kirehe cci@kirehe@gmail.com 0788 430 723

Sylvain Environmenta Kirehe District smutabaruka@yahoo.fr 0788 486 390
Mutabaruka l officer
Alfred Director ENAS and farmer alfrednkubili@yahoo.fr 0788 300 760
Nkubili
Jean Marie Senior Vision Finance jmusangwa@vfcrwanda.c 0788 305 604
Vienney Operations Company om
Musangwa Manager
Timothy Project NNDBP katimothy@yahoo.co.uk 0788 466 635
Kayumba Coordinator
Anaclet Biogas expert SNV Rwanda andahimana@snvworld.or 0788 859 138
Ndahimana g
Dominique Private sector SNV Rwanda dowekisa@snvworld.org 0788 301 509
Owekisa and finance

___________________

Annex 3: ToR Biogas Field Technician
1 Specific duties
Biogas Field Technician will work in the Kirehe Districts and its Secteur with the different
stakeholders but in particular with the households and the local contractors and the credit
institutions.

He/she has the following specific tasks:
 Assist the district and NDBP’s promotion campaign by contacting interested
farmers, contractors and agents of local authorities and advice in the completion of
the NDBP forms;
 Assist farmers, biogas construction companies, the Banque Populaire du Rwanda
and local authorities in the completion of forms from the NDBP to obtain susidy
provided by the national program;
 Evaluate the technical conditions of household before construction
 Monitor the quality of plants under construction and issue completion forms for
completed units.
 Monitor the after-sales services provided by the biogas companies
 Report any defects observed in bio digesters to the district’s authorities and inform
NDBP,
 Contribute in training sessions for users and technicians
 Assist companies and local organizations in conducting users training sessions
Collect data on the digesters from the field and provide monthly field reports for the
district as well as for the NDBP
 Undertake any other task assigned by the Districts Authorities.

2 The required profile

The successful candidate must have the following qualifications and/or skills:

 Technical educational in civil construction or agricultural subjects A1
(minimum),
 at least 2 years relevant working experience (supervision of construction) in rural
areas;
 good knowledge of the rural sector in Rwanda;
 Experience and/or willingness to ride a motorcycle as transport in the rural areas
 Good verbal and written communication skills in Kinyarwanda, French and/or
English.
 Having received training in biogas technology is an added advantage

3 Place of work

The field technician will be based in Kirehe district

4 Duration of the assignment

___________________

The duration of the contract shall initially be for a period of 24 months (with a 6 month
probation period) and will be renewable depending on performance and program
requirements.

5 Application procedures
Interested candidates should provide the following documents:
 an application letter for employment;
 a detailed curriculum vitae;
 photocopies of degrees and certificates obtained.

Closing date/time for application: date xx Month Year at xx.00 hrs

All applications shall be submitted to:
Executive Secretary
Postal details : xxxx
Kirehe district

___________________

Annex 4 : Bill of Quantities and average costs of biogas digester of 6 mtr3

Qty Unit Total
Cost Cost
SN Items Unit NDBP NDBP NDBP
1 Building materials FRW FRW
3
1.1 Stones m 6.0 12,500 75,000
3
1.2 Gravel 20mm diameter maximum m 2.0 20,000 40,000
3
1.3 Clean coarse sand m 2.0 15,000 30,000
3
1.4 Clean fine sand m 2.0 15,000 30,000

Sub total 1 175,000
2 Cement

2.1 Portland Cement bags 18.0 11,000 198,000

Sub total 2 198,000
3 Hardware materials

2.1 Acrylic emulsion paint kg 2.0 2,000 4,000

2.2 Gas Turret pipe with 1 1/4-1/2 reducer pcs 1.0 7,000 7,000

2.3 Steel rods 8mm pcs 4.0 7,500 30,000

2.4 Binding wire kg 0.5 2,000 1,000

2.5 Galvanized wire kg 0.5 2,000 1,000

2.6 PVC pipe 110 mm, PN 4 pcs 1.0 12,000 12,000

2.7 PVC pipes 20 mm, PN 16 pcs 7.0 2,500 17,500

2.8 PVC elbow 20mm pcs 7.0 500 3,500

2.9 PVC tee 20 mm pcs 4.0 500 2,000

2.10 PVC socket 20 mm pcs 3.0 500 1,500

2.11 PVC Adapter nipple 1/2 pcs 4.0 500 2,000

2.12 PVC Adapter socket 1/2 pcs 1.0 500 500

2.13 Tangit Glue kg 0.25 8,000 2,000

2.14 Galvanized Nipple 1/2'' pcs 5.0 500 2,500

2.15 Galvanized Union pcs 1.0 700 700

2.16 Galvanised Plug 1/2'' pcs 1.0 500 500
2.17 Gas hose pipe m 2.50

___________________

2,000 5,000

2.18 Hosepipe Nipple pcs 5.0 2,000 10,000

2.19 Hosepipe clamp pcs 6.0 600 3,600

2.20 Gas valve 1/2'' pcs 4 3,500 14,000

2.21 Biogas lamp pcs 1 15,000 15,000

2.22 Biogas stove pcs 1 20,000 20,000

2.23 Pressure gauge pcs 1 7,000 7,000

2.24 Teflon tapes pcs 3 300 900

2.25 Galavanised elbow pcs 2 500 1,000

2.26 Wood screws pcs 10 30 300

2.27 Screw holders 8 mm pcs 10 30 300

2.28 Wall clamps 1/2" pcs 5 500 2,500

2.29 Desulphication device pcs 1 13,000 13,000

Sub total 3 180,300
4 Labour and unexpected cost
person-
4.1 Skilled labour day 15 3,500 52,500
person-
4.2 Unskilled labour day 40 1,500 60,000

4.3 Work Supervision lumpsum 1 15,000 15,000

4.4 After-sales services lumpsum 3 2,500 7,500

4.5 Transport supervision days 3 2,500 7,500

4.6 Transport of special materials lumpsum 1 15,000 15,000

4.7 Gross margin for company including 1 year guaranty lumpsum 70,000

Sub total 4 227,500
3
Total cost of a 6 m digester 780,800

___________________

Annex 5

Photographs of digester constructions

Chinese fibre
glass digester
6 mtr3

Assembled from
4 parts

Installation in the
ground

Covered with
top structures

___________________

Masonry type
digester

Built at location
using stones, sand
and cement. Built
by local masons

Digester
underground

Inlet and overflow
shown

___________________

IFAD Biogas support Mission in Rwanda

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