Tanzania: Camartec Launches Biogas Technology, Creates Over 10,000 Jobs

By Anne Robi

THE Centre for Agriculture Mechanisation and Rural Technology (Camartec) has created over 100 permanent jobs by

utilising biogas technology in the country.

It has also created over 10,000 casual jobs during the construction of the plant, installation of biogas digesters and tanks for households, schools and related customers.

Addressing journalists in Dar es Salaam during a six-month renewable energy journalism fellowship (2019-2020) workshop facilitated by HIVOS East Africa, Nukta Africa and Journalists for Environment (JET) to help them improve the quality and quantity of reporting renewable energy news in the country, Camartec Acting Director Pythias Ntella said: "Since the introduction of the biogas technology in the country, we have created 100 permanent jobs and 10,000 temporary jobs.

The permanent jobs were created by establishing biogas plant construction companies and the centre has also constructed 45 biogas plants outside the country."

Camartec introduced biogas technology in the country in 1983 with the facilitation of German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ).

Since then, the centre has constructed 12,000 domestic plants for households and 125 plants for institutions in various regions in the country.

Biogas plants use animal waste like cow dung to process cheap and clean fuel, besides being tapped as organic fertilisers to ensure families' source of power.

With various training sessions also offered to communities, it builds their capacity to use biogas in their areas in a cheap way.

However, explaining Mr Ntella noted that the centre was facing various challenges to further advance, citing them as a shortage of technicians and lack of funds to monitor and assess implemented plants.

"Inadequate skilled workers to construct and ensure maintenance of the biogas plants is one of the setbacks we are facing," he said.

In Tanzania the overall performance of the country's social and economic development requires that existing energy minimises it challenges.

Currently, about 80 per cent of Tanzanians live in rural areas, and again 90 per cent per cent of the population has no access to grid electricity, only to rely on wood fuel and charcoal which cause about 500,000 hectares of trees to be felled annually.