The DIVAGRI demonstration site at the Rietfontein NUST Satellite Campus has completed several key installations, showcasing small-scale technologies designed to improve agricultural yields, reduce input costs, and restore land for rural communities. DIVAGRI, which stands for Revenue diversification pathways in Africa through bio-based and circular agricultural innovations, is led by Dr. Veikko Shalimba, a NUST School of Engineering Associate Dean. The project’s team has been working closely with local farmers to collect data since early August 2025.

​Key innovations at the site include a biogas digester that converts cow dung and kitchen scraps into clean cooking gas, as well as two Top-Lit Updraft biocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More kilns that turn encroacher bush into biochar for soil improvement. The site also features a self-regulating, low-energy, clay-based low-pressure irrigation pilot, a fenced ethnobotanical plot of fruit and medicinal species, and a refurbished mushroom biorefinery that is now in early production. Dr. Shalimba highlighted the practical nature of the technology, noting that it converts waste into valuable products such as gas for cooking, biochar for soils, and mushrooms for the market.

Training sessions held for farmers and students covered safe biogas use, biochar production, irrigation setup, and basic mushroom cultivation. The project has also addressed early challenges, such as frost losses and water pressure issues, with viable solutions like the use of frost cloths and pressure management systems. Dr. Jerome Boys, Acting Head of the Rietfontein Satellite Campus, commended the initiative for highlighting the important work taking place there. The project demonstrates how bio-based circular practices can be adopted on small farms to build resilience and new income streams, with NUST inviting agricultural partners to help scale these solutions across Namibia.

SOURCE: Demo site turns farm waste into energy, soil health and income