What are the solutions or possibilities available today to transform into energy and fertilizers, organic waste from cities and rural areas in West Africa? The question was at the heart of a workshop on the report of the research carried out on this subject within the framework of the Western Africa Bio-wastes For Energy and Fertilizer WABEF project. The meeting was held at Songhaï Center in Porto-Novo, from 16 to 18 July 2017. It was attended by several development actors, civil society, experts and other officials from institutions involved in the field and part of the project.
Initiated in 2014, WABEF project has set itself the main objective of identifying and listing all possible techniques for the mechanization of organic residues, in order to make them available to politicians, experts, institutions or project managers in West Africa. The results of this research were presented, discussed and amended during the “WABEF Regional School” which took place from 16 to 18 July at Songhai Center and which brought together Experts and technicians from Senegal, Benin, Mali and Cape Verde. Some organizations such as the Dutch Development Organization (SNV), the National Agency for Rural Development Support (ANADER) , And the Benin Ministry of Energy, were also invited to this “WABEF Regional School” in order to absorb the results and to be able to disseminate them. According to Jean-Michel Médoc, Project Coordinator and researcher at the Center for International Cooperation and Research (CIRAD), the results from WABEF will be widely disseminated and will in fact constitute “tools to help make an informed choice of options and for a viable business plan “.
In this dynamic, Songhai Center in Benin, like the Association for Aid and Rural Development (AEDR) – TeriyaBugu in Mali, is positioning itself as a demonstration site for the establishment of a biogas and fertilizers production unit from the mechanization of organic waste. The Center produces 5% of its monthly consumption of electricity and can reduce up to 50% and 25% the expenses related to the consumption of firewood, respectively at the trainees’ canteen and at the Bar-restaurant through the production of biogas.
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