The Crops Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) in collaboration
with the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa (SROS) has successfully installed a HomeBiogas
4.0 System at Nu’u making Samoa the first Pacific country to have installed this innovative Israeli
technology.
The HomeBiogas System decomposes food scraps, waste and animal manure and produces
renewable energy in the form bio-gas for daily cooking and bio-slurry fertilizer for healthy soil and
plants. By re-using bio-organic matter, the innovative system can produce up to three hours of
cooking gas per household after feeding it with 12 kgs of kitchen waste or animal manure. In
addition, the installation reduces carbon emissions and strengthens climate resilience by reducing
waste and dependence on firewood.
CEO for MAF, Tilafono David Hunter says the donation of two (2) HomeBiogas units to Samoa is part
of the activities under the Israel Pacific Food Security Alliance (IPFSA); an initiative that resulted after
a summit meeting in February 2020 between Pacific country leaders and the State of Israel,
“At the Summit meeting in 2020, Pacific country leaders and the state of Israel agreed to strengthen
further cooperation to support efforts in addressing sustainable development challenges by drawing
on the unique experience and innovative skills of Israel in the fields of public health, food security,
water management, renewable energy, climate change adaption, and mitigation among others.”
“The final outcome of summit meeting is the Israel Pacific Food Security Alliance (IPFSA). In
implementing this initiative, the Israeli Foreign Ministry (IFM) donated over 90 HomeBiogas cooking
devices to be distributed among the Pacific Island states including Samoa,” said Tilafono.
“We would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank the continuous support from the State of Israel
through Israel Ministry as well as the HOMEBIOGAS representative in Fiji, Pacific Grow for the
financial support in funding this project not only for Samoa but other Pacific island colleagues.”
ACEO for Crops Division, Tanu Toomata said the first HomeBiogas unit has been installed at Nuu on a
site where the Ministry plans to renovate an existing building to accommodate a seeds production
laboratory.
“Two complete sets of HomeBiogas units were received and one has been utilized for the
implementation of the system by the teams for the first trial in monitoring and testing the progress
of the system before it is promoted to farmers, with the second unit to be installed at SROS to

scientifically assess its effectiveness and efficiency for its intended purposes, as part of MAF-SROS
collaboration on technological research.” said Mr Toomata.
“The HomeBiogas unit acts as a smart waste management tool which will complement our work in
processing vegetable and fruit seeds. All the left-over food waste will feed the seeds production
laboratory while benefiting from the sustainable clean energy and organic fertilizer produced.”
“The successful installation by one of our staff with support from Pacific Grow in Fiji is a highlight of
another great achievement for Samoa being the first country in the Pacific to install this unique
technology.”
The HomeBiogas was installed two weeks ago by Crops Advisory Officer, Ioelu Iosefa. Mr Iosefa is
now a certified trainer after successfully completing the 10-week IPFSA regional training program for
trainers facilitated by Fiji based company, Pacific Grow, in October 2021.
“What I've learned from my experience in the Biogas training is that this system from Israel is very
easy to install and I’m very excited to transfer this new agriculture technology know-how to our
farmers in the near future,“ said Mr Iosefa.
“This new system serves 3 main purposes and that is to provide gas for cooking and even liquid
fertilizer which is much needed by our local farmers. I think it can help to uplift the standard of living
especially in these times that we are facing the difficulties of the Covid-19 disease and also the
impacts of the Climate change.”