In Egypt, farmers are now turning to biogas and organic fertilizers as alternatives to butane gas and chemical fertilizers. These essential agricultural products have become scarce in households, compounded by the inflation the country has been experiencing for some time.
Mohamed Eissa, a 43-year-old farmer living in the village of Ezab el-Fashn el-Sharqeya, in the Beni Suef province of southern Egypt, is one of many farmers who have recently installed biogas production units at their homes.
These units transform livestock manure into cooking fuel and organic fertilizer.
"The [biogas] unit benefits us at home and in the fields," explains Eissa, who lives with his wife and four children on one hectare of farmland.
"She has reduced our consumption of butane bottles. I used to buy four a month at 170 EGP (US$3.30) each. Now I only buy one, which saves me about 500 EGP a month (US$9.80). She also provides me with organic fertilizers that I use to feed my potato crop," he adds.
Its unit was installed by Biomasr Egypt, a company specializing in converting organic waste into bioenergy. Since its inception, Biomasr has installed more than 1,000 domestic biogas units across the country.
Operation of biogas units
Biomasr CEO Muhammad Omar explains that the units operate in three stages:
1. Mix the manure with a specific amount of water.
2. Introduce this waste into a fermenter isolated from the outside environment, where bacteria transform the waste into methane, the main component of natural gas.
3. Transport this methane to homes to power stoves. The process also produces organic fertilizers.
These organic fertilizers can replace chemical fertilizers, which have become scarce and expensive worldwide.
Environmental and energy benefits
In Egypt, nearly ten million rural households still use subsidized butane cylinders because they are not connected to the natural gas network. With inflation, the cost of these cylinders has increased tenfold in recent years.
Biogas units also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018, livestock manure emitted almost 3.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide worldwide, representing two-thirds of agricultural emissions, according to the FAO.
A still largely untapped potential
Ahmed Medhat, a bioenergy consultant, believes that Egypt is only exploiting a tiny fraction of its potential. With nearly five million head of livestock, the country could power one million domestic biogas units, but it currently only has 5,000.
The development of a comprehensive infrastructure and increased awareness of biogas are necessary for it to become a sustainable solution to energy and environmental challenges in rural areas of Egypt.
