An Assessment Of Factors Influencing The Choice And Adoption Of Biogas Technology Among The Peri-Urban Residents Of Kisii County

ABSTRACT

Biogas technology in Kenya dates back to the 1957.Efforts to promote the technology in most potential areas had not been effective in the country until May 2007 when the plan for implementation of national biogas energy programme started with the formation of the Kenya Biogas Task Force. Despite the potential and demand the adoption level has been low and on a decreasing rate. The study sought to assess the level of people‘s awareness and attitude towards biogas technology, to explore the root causes of low technology adoption in relation to the efforts so far executed in biogas promotion, to assess the efficacy of biogas technology in comparison to other sources of household energy and sought to explain the roles and challenges stakeholders face in their effort to promote biogas technology in Kisii county. Multi-Stage sampling procedure involving purposive selection of resource persons who have been reached by biogas programmes with the purpose of capturing the experiences of biogas users and potential adopters. The study was conducted in the peri-urban of five town centers in Kisii County namely :Kisii Sunek, Mosocho Marani and Kiogoro.The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection and analysis. A conceptual framework based on the adoption theories guided the analysis of factors influencing biogas adoption. Study findings show that 85.71% of the population was aware of the technology and only 114 units of t in 2007 and 167 units as by 2013 December. Biogas technology adoption has continued to decrease. The decrease has been associated with reduction and subsequent withdrawal of subsidies for biogas plant constructions.

Based on the results of factors influencing biogas technology adoption in the area, starting from the most influential to the least are: high installation costs of plants, multiple use of household fuels, level of income and education ,promotion of the technology, and from the experience of biogas users, biogas was very efficient when well maintained and very clean, no health implications were reported though they complained of inadequate combustion efficiency to provide more energy for cooking and inadequate or rather lack of facilities and appliances such as stoves and lamps. There was minimal coordination between stakeholders and lack of a central coordinating body. The study further identified that the government institutions have not fully engaged in promoting biogas technology in the area and instead the responsibility has been left to NGOs without effectual intervention on other factors including information dissemination, access to credits motivation and coordination.

Based on the study, the researcher recommends that first the ministry of energy should harmonize the policy on energy and environment so as to uphold biogas technology as an alternative clean green energy, secondly there is need for a central biogas coordinating body at the national and regional level to coordinate and monitor stakeholder roles as well as financial management and also introduce technologies that are cheap such as the plastic tubular design through enhanced research.