A biogas expert, Victor Balogun, has said that investing in biogas production will go a long way to tackle deforestation and equally provide an alternative means of power generation.
Balogun made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Osogbo on Friday.
He spoke on the backdrop of creating alternative energy source for domestic use.
According to him, biogas is a renewable form of energy generated when micro organisms degrade organic materials in an oxygen free environment.
He said that the gas could be created through construction of a feedstock (bio-digester plant) for biogas generation.
Balogun said organic materials needed to produce biogas could be sourced from everyday domestic wastes, industrial wastes and agricultural wastes at little or no cost.
He noted that if these wastes were processed through a biogas plant, it would be converted to cooking gas and gas for generating electricity.
He said using biogas for cooking would reduce the use of firewood or charcoal in households where firewood was used extensively for cooking.
The expert said in places where firewood and charcoal were solely depended on for cooking, wood demand and tree felling would be on the increase.
This, he said, would lead to serious deforestation but with the production of biogas, the situation could be salvaged.
He said using biogas would make the environment clean as wastes around the house and environment would be cleared and turn into renewable energy.
According to him, the use of biogas will reduce outbreak of deceases caused by littering and open defecation.
Balogun, therefore, called on government at all levels to embrace and invest in the technology of biogas production.
He expressed optimism that it would help in solving a lot of environmental challenges faced by the country as well as creating jobs for a lot of unemployed Nigerians.
The biogas expert said the UK Government had been able to empowered more than 80, 000 Britons through waste management programmes and technology.
He said: “If the Nigerian Government can emulate the UK and embrace biogas, a lot of job opportunities will be created for Nigerians through this technology.