“Our communities need energy but unfortunately the national grid is too expensive and insufficient. We need renewable energy because it is sustainable and affordable”- Mr. Dario Machava, Zavala Local Government Administrator

Cassava is considered among the principle staple foods and plays a vital food security role in Mozambique as in the rest of Africa. Mozambique is the 11th largest cassava producer in Africa with over 100 varieties cultivated in the different parts of the country.

The Josina Machel cooperative in Inharrime district, Inhambane province established in 1991 is the largest cassava processing plant in Mozambique. Currently the cooperative uses non-mechanized traditional methods of processing to produce “Rale”, a final flour product after grating, dewatering, roasting, and drying the cassava. The cassava processing is labor intensive and involves the use of huge amounts of firewood which is detrimental to the environment. Besides, women are more involved in not only labor-intensive activities like peeling, drying, roasting, and ferrying of firewood but also in activities that present grave health risks like roasting and drying using firewood all day long. The women are exposed to wood smoke, a main contributor to fine particle pollution (PM) and is responsible for poor air quality.

Low levels of productivity is mentioned as one of the major barriers to the development of the cassava processing industry. This is coupled with poor energy access which negatively affects the supply side of the cassava value chain. With UNIDO’s support the cooperative will adopt biogas to improve access to energy and address the cassava processing needs of the cooperative and reduce the impact of firewood consumption on the environment

“There is need for increased production so that communities can sustain themselves and in order to increase production, there is need for sustainable energy”---Jaime Comiche, UNIDO Representative in Mozambique

UNIDO in partnership with CHARIS-Associacao de Solidariedade Social, embarked on the process of the installation of simple, low-cost biogas plants for home and small business use in the coconut small businesses in the coconut, cashew nut and cassava cashew and cassava industries in the province of Inhambane, Mozambique. The Josina Machel Cassava Processing Cooperative in Inharrime District is a beneficiary of the UNIDO/GEF aimed at producing 35,000 m3 (around 96 m3/day) of biogas for use in cooking (domestic, small, medium and large industries), refrigeration and lighting)

A biogas system, with a capacity of 15m3 of biogas production, will be installed at the Josina Machel Cooperative's Cassava Processing Unit to reduce operating costs and increase efficiency in the Cooperative's production activities. At the Processing Unit, the biogas will be transformed into electricity to power cassava toasters during the refining process.