The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Abdoulie John
30 April 2007
In line with government's efforts to promote the utilisation of renewable energy resources, a national workshop on large scale country-wide biogas development in The Gambia was held last Thursday at Atlantic Hotel, Banjul.
Jointly organized by the Department of State for Agriculture and World Bank, the one-day workshop gave the participants opportunity to brainstorm on the Peri-Urban Small-holder Improvement Project, which aims to develop the use of biogas in various households in Banjulinding, North Bank and Western Regions.
After having drawn an alarming picture of the consequences of human activities on the environment, Kanja Sanneh, Secretary of State for Agriculture, outlined the emerging climate change as an "outcome of our actions." "I am sure you all will agree with me that we are facing crisis right in our kitchens! More than 80 per cent of Gambians depend on the fuelwood for our cooking. On average, a Gambian uses half a kilo of fuelwood to cook a meal in a day. Consequently, we are either spending 100 per cent more money on a bundle of fuelwood or spending double the time to collect them than what we did 10 years ago," he added.
Besides these significant statistics, the SoS for Agriculture expressed his happiness with the initiative, saying the national workshop will demonstrated that there are solutions that can help to meet some of the cooking energy demands through the use of biogas renewable energy. He then reiterated that the government will give full support to such a project.
Haddy Jatou Sey, Social Development Specialist at the World Bank, told the press that the development of biogas projects will help to reduce deforestation. She confirmed that the women using biogas plants in their households have witnessed tremendous changes that the technology brought to their life.
Elaborating on the multiple benefits of the biogas plants, she said its by-product can be used as a fertilizer in the agricultural sector. According to her, the advantages of such a renewable energy embraces educational and financial domains. She further expressed the need to embark on a public awareness campaign so as to promote the use of biogas in households.
At the workshop, participants seized the opportunity to gear up towards the use of biogas technology as an alternative energy source. They also expressed concerns about the affordability of a biogas plant, suggesting it should be within reach of Gambians households.
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