4.3. Location: Korhogo/lvory Coast

The method of keeping animals and the climate here are similar to the situation described above in Central India. Despite this' biogas dissemination encounters great difficulties. Farmers and their wives are not used to collecting dung since there is plenty of fuelwood growing around the scattered settlements. Collecting wood means no extra work for the women as they bring it with them when coming home from the fields. The fields are often far away from the farms, there are no ox-carts. Organic fertilisation here is carried out by driving the cattle over the fields after the harvest. Cow dung is normally considered "unclean". There is a shortage of water and only few farmers have their own well. Under such conditions, biogas technology hardly has any chance of seeing a great demand. In order to make use of biogas extensively, the farmers would have to completely change their farming and working procedures. A complete re-structuring of the agricultural systems would be necessary: indoor stabling of dairy cows and a regular production of fodder grass would have to be introduced. The animals would have to be given water in the sheds to save water for the biogas plant; the amount of work involved in looking after the cattle would have to be substantially increased. In addition to these problems on the demands side, there are also problems on the supply side. The agricultural extension services are in an overall structural crisis. The counterpart organisation, despite its high involvement, is not able to support a biogas programme with the funds it has available.