Converting this waste into biogas and fertilizer will help prevent disease outbreaks, cut harmful gas emissions, lower costs for farmers and provide new supplies of clean energy.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $74 million to fund thousands of biogas plants across Viet Nam to help reduce the country’s mounting piles of rural waste, which are harming the environment and endangering health.
“A boom in livestock production has seen a sharp rise in the discharge of untreated waste, which has serious consequences for health and the environment,” said Agustina Musa, Financial Management Specialist in ADB’s Southeast Asia Department. “Converting this waste into biogas and fertilizer will help prevent disease outbreaks, cut harmful gas emissions, lower costs for farmers and provide new supplies of clean energy.”
The
Low Carbon Agricultural Support Project will process agricultural and rural household waste into biogas and bio-slurry, a clean organic fertilizer. Data from a similar ADB project in the People’s Republic of China shows that biogas plant investments lower energy costs, raise organic fertilizer use, and boost household incomes annually by about 15%. The project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of 150,000 tons annually.
More than 36,000 small, medium and large-sized biogas plants are expected to be built and the project will also raise awareness about environmentally-safe, climate-friendly waste management practices using commune pilot demonstrations, short training courses, study tours, radio and television programs. and information materials.
The project will also provide credit lines through financial intermediaries, which will allow farmers and livestock enterprises to access financing to establish and improve biogas infrastructure. It will also provide incentives to biogas stakeholders for the development of carbon markets, aid government efforts to access markets for carbon credits, and support greater private sector involvement in the management of the industry.
The project will run for six years with an expected completion date of December 2018. ADB’s loan is from its concessional Asian Development Fund, with the Government of Viet Nam and state-owned financial firms contributing a combined $10 million.
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