In industrialized countries with large plants and good infrastructure, a professional biogas
service can cover a large area. In developing countries with scattered small scale biogas
units, logistical problems can severely hamper the evolution of a professional and
commercial biogas service. To ensure that built biogas units are maintained and, if
necessary, repaired, the following approaches are conceivable:
• The farmer technician approach: out of a group of biogas farmers, an outstanding
individual is encouraged to undergo maintenance and repair training to take this up
as a side job. Emphasis has to be placed on management training. To make his
enterprise sustainable, the farmer technician should gain a reasonable income.
• The cluster approach: if the demand for biogas plants is high, the biogas project or
the biogas company can attempt to install biogas units in a regional clustering to
minimize distances for the maintenance service.
• The subsidized transport approach: a professional biogas technician is supported
with transport by the biogas project or government departments (e.g. agricultural
extension, veterinary service). The technician can also receive a bicycle or small
motorbike as an initial input, running costs can either initially be shared by the biogas
project or directly be charged to the farmers.
However the logistical problems may be solved, the critical ingredient for the evolution of a
professional and commercial biogas service is the training of the technicians-to-be both in
technical and managerial terms. Experience shows, that this can take several years. Biogas
projects should, therefore, plan with a not too narrow time horizon.
75