Farmers in rural Phong Binh, Vietnam are trading in their traditional wood burning stoves for energy-efficient models run on biogas.

Nordic development organization Norwegian Church Aid and Dutch development organization SNV are developing and promoting biogas systems in the region.

In Phong Binh, the two agencies provided 82 biogas plants that convert animal manure into energy resources and energy-efficient stoves to run on this energy, according to ScandAsia.

Phong Binh is home for 1,717 families with over 8,000 people living across 10 villages. Around 90 percent of the area is used for rice production and livestock.

About 70 percent of Vietnam's people dwell in remote rural areas, earning a living from agriculture, animal farming and fishing. They mostly use wood, charcoal, agricultural residue and dried animal dung as energy sources.

With the help of the biogas plants, the people would not need to spend hours collect traditional fuels and could instead devote their time to more important things such as going to school and earning from income-generating activities.

They also reduce the pressure on mangroves and other forests in the area and allow the farmers to use the nutrient-rich slurry left over from the biogas digesters as crop fertilizer, said Norwegian Church Aid clean energy specialist Hoang Thi Thanh Mai.

The biogas systems also prevent pollution and provide additional businesses and jobs, said SNV's biogas adviser in Vietnam Bastiaan Tenue.

Reportedly, there have been 300,000 jobs created in the biogas industry in the country since 2003, where villagers are trained for biogas plant construction.

Each biogas system costs around $500 with a lifespan of 15 years. – EcoSeed Staff