By Beaven Dhliwayo , Group Features Editor
ZIMBABWE’S Rural Electrification Fund (REF) is rolling out a biogas programme to help farming communities cook with clean energy, as part of efforts to reduce deforestation and extend modern energy access to off-grid households.
The initiative, unveiled this month, will see REF build household-scale biogas digesters for villagers and smallholder farmers who meet specific requirements.
Beneficiaries must own at least eight head of cattle to provide a steady supply of manure, which is fed into underground digesters that produce methane gas for cooking.
Participants are asked to supply locally available materials such as bricks, river sand, quarry stones, and water, while REF provides builders, piping, and biogas-compatible stoves.
“We want to make sure rural communities engage in smart cooking, and they desist from cutting down trees, destroying our forests, and causing environmental problems,” REF public relations and marketing executive Johannes Nyamayedenga told The Financial Gazette recently.
The programme comes at a time when Zimbabwe is grappling with rising energy demand, fuel shortages, and an electricity supply deficit.
Rural households, which make up 67 percent of the population, rely heavily on firewood for cooking.
The Forestry Commission estimates that the country loses around 262,000 hectares of forest every year, much of it due to household energy use.
“Biogas gives us a clean and sustainable alternative,” Nyamayedenga said.
“If a villager provides the building materials and digs the pit, we bring the stove, the digester connections, and the technical support. It is a partnership.”
By adopting a cost-sharing model, REA hopes to spread the technology without straining its limited budget.
The agency, established in 2002, has historically focused on extending the national electricity grid and installing solar mini-grids.
But Nyamayedenga said biogas was particularly suited to livestock-rich regions where cattle waste is abundant and underutilised.
“Anyone with at least eight cattle qualifies. If you also have goats or pigs, you can add that waste and scale up to meet larger energy needs,” he said.
“We want households to see value in what they already have.”
Experts say the model could unlock wider benefits for rural communities. Biogas digesters also produce nutrient-rich slurry that can be used as fertiliser, reducing reliance on costly chemical inputs.
For women and children, who typically spend hours gathering firewood, the shift could free up time for education or small businesses.
“Energy access is not just about cooking. It transforms livelihoods,” said an independent energy analyst based in Harare.
“If scaled up, biogas could reduce pressure on forests, improve soil fertility and save families money in the long run.”
Zimbabwe has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent per capita by 2030, under its Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement.
Renewable energy is central to that pledge, with solar, hydropower, and biomass all identified as priority sources.
Government officials say decentralised projects like biogas fit neatly into the country’s broader Vision 2030 strategy, which seeks to expand energy access while fostering climate resilience.
“Biogas aligns with our push for rural empowerment and environmental protection,” Nyamayedenga said.
“It is a climate-smart solution that meets the daily needs of our people. We are encouraging people to come forward and register. Our teams will assess capacity, guide construction, and train households on usage and maintenance,” he said.
REA said demand has already grown in provinces such as Mashonaland Central and Manicaland, where cattle ownership is common and firewood shortages are acute.
Farmers have shown interest not only in cooking gas but in the organic fertiliser by-product, which could help lower input costs at a time when fertiliser prices have surged due to global supply chain disruptions.
“People are seeing the value beyond just the stove,” Nyamayedenga said.
“They are realising that waste can be turned into energy and fertiliser. That is a powerful shift.”
With only 28 percent of rural households currently connected to the electricity grid, according to Zimbabwe’s National Energy Policy, the biogas push reflects a pragmatic turn to low-cost, decentralised technologies.
“This is not just about energy, it is about protecting forests and improving rural livelihoods,” Nyamayedenga said.