China provides 300 biodigesters to Cambodian households

The Chinese government signed to provide 300 biodigesters to Cambodian households on Monday, officials have said.

Sar Chetra, deputy secretary general of the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, signed to receive the donation from Song Xiaoguo, economic councilor at the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, Chetra thanked China for providing biodigesters to rural Cambodian families, saying that they would reduce households'expense on firewood and charcoal and contribute to environmental protection. "This aid truly shows Chinese attention to the improvement of livelihoods of rural people,"he said.

Song said China and Cambodia are good neighbors, brothers, friends and partners, and China will continue to assist Cambodia for the country's development and poverty reduction. "We believe that the biodigesters will help Cambodian households to cut their expense on cooking gas, fuel wood or charcoal,"he said, adding that biogas technology is environmentally friendly.

Nheb Sron, director of Takeo provincial agriculture department, said that of the 300 biodigesters, 250 have been building in Takeo province and 50 in Kandal province. "So far, 71 biodigesters have been installed for households and the project will be completed by the end of this year,"he said.

Biodigesters are a rural technology which decomposes micro and macro organisms from manure in a closed container system through fermentation to produce biogas and slurry.