Uganda among 5 African countries that have committed to strengthening biodigester markets in Sub- Saharan Africa.

From 23rd to 25th May 2023, the African Biodigester Component (ABC) of the Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Clean Cooking Programme – (SEE-CC)?held an international annual Knowledge Exchange Event at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala.

The event drew over 150 actors from the energy and agricultural public and private sectors of ABC's partner African countries, i.e. Uganda, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, and was hosted by the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development. It was organized by Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) , SNV, GIZ and Biogas Solutions Uganda Ltd - BSUL, and financed by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Union.

Making preliminary remarks at the event, Hon. Denis Ouedraogo, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Agriculture, Animal Resources and Fisheries, stated that to foster sustainability of the biodigester market, African countries should build political will to promote the industry and also secure enough funding for implementation. He further called upon stakeholders to prioritize the capacity building of actors on both the supply and demand sides.

Presentations and discussions at the Knowledge Exchange Event subsequently focused on the importance of biodigesters for social economic development, the opportunities to leverage existing and upcoming carbon financing, investment, and innovation opportunities, fostering a conducive enabling environment, organic fertilizer valorisation, bio-slurry value addition from biodigesters, and gender transformation within the sector. This multi-stakeholder, international discourse greatly contributed to the ongoing South-South dialogue on the commercialization and development of biodigester markets.

Hon. Peter Lokeris, Ugandan Minister of State for Minerals, reinforced the timeliness and importance of the event’s call to create sustainable biodigester markets in Sub-Sahara Africa for improved energy access and promotion of organic fertiliser utilisation. He reaffirmed Uganda’s commitment to building local capacities to innovate, build, operate and repair biodigesters, to foster access to alternative energies.

High-level ministerial representatives also got a chance to visit National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) and a model farm in Mityana where they saw an institutional and small-scale biodigester respectively. The field visits optimized knowledge exchange between stakeholders regarding biodigesters, and business cases for bio-digesters and bio-slurry. The NARO facility demonstrated the business case for institutional biogas systems while the farm at Mityana demonstrated the different enterprises that can be promoted at the household level as a result of owning a bio-digester.

At the closure of the event, with input from Government representatives and sector stakeholders, participants developed a joint communiqué, dubbed the Kampala Declaration for Development of the Biodigester Market, ?that clearly articulated critical barriers and opportunities underpinning the development of sustainable biodigester markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. The document further committed all ABC partner countries to continue collaborating, in cooperation with development partners, and the private sector to address barriers and support the growth and sustainability of the commercial biodigester markets even beyond the ABC project lifetime.

Participants also purposed to leverage these lessons and best practices to grow the institutional and industrial biodigester markets. The communiqué was signed by the team of Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Department Directors, and Special Advisors who represented the respective 5 ABC partner countries at the event.

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