Validating a Novel Approach to the Productive Use of Biogas to Empower Medium Scale Dairy and Pig Farmers in Costa Rica

This project aims to validate the feasibility of an innovative approach to the productive use of biogas in dairy and pig farms in Costa Rica, avoiding the use of electrical generators. Both sectors are important in the country, with over 35,000 production sites. Specifically, at the dairy farms the project aims to replace the use of electric motors with biogas-powered engines to operate the milking machines and forage choppers. Additionally, the use of propane or electricity to heat water for cleaning will be replaced by biogas at the five dairies involved in the project. The same is true for the five pig farms, where the goal is to replace the use of propane or electricity for providing heat for the piglets with biogas-fired infrared heating lamps. The specific objectives of the project are:  

• To identify potential farmers and project sites
• To design, purchase and implement the biogas systems at five dairy farms and five pig farms
• To monitor the biodigester operations and the further testing and training activities
• To compile detailed data on biogas consumption, energy savings etc.
• To disseminate the project experiences and lessons learned to the public at agricultural conferences