By Daniel Aondoaseer Zendesha

What if organic waste could become more than something to throw away?
For Mercy Msenhemba Atsuku, it could also be part of the conversation around clean cooking, energy access and agriculture.

Growing up in Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, Atsuku experienced the challenges of firewood dependence. Her search for alternatives eventually led her into biogas technology, which she first began working with at Baban Wondo in Plateau State.

Today, she is using her experience to promote the idea that organic waste can potentially be converted into useful energy.

Turning organic waste into biogas
Biogas technology uses a biodigester to break down organic materials in an oxygen-free environment, producing a gas that can be used as an energy source.

Atsuku says her team at Green Matic fabricates biodigesters designed to convert organic waste into biogas for cooking.

The idea is simple but potentially significant: materials that might otherwise become waste can be processed and used as part of an energy system.

The process can also produce a nutrient-rich by-product that may have agricultural applications, depending on how the system is designed and managed.

For a state like Benue, where agriculture plays a major role in the lives and livelihoods of many communities, the connection between waste management, agriculture and clean energy is worth examining.

More than an energy solution
For Atsuku, biogas is not simply about replacing one cooking fuel with another.

Her broader vision includes creating awareness, building technical skills and encouraging more people—particularly women and young people—to explore clean-energy innovation.
She says she wants more women to learn how to fabricate and maintain biodigesters, manage organic waste and understand alternative cooking technologies.

Through the Samuel Aondoaver Yamsa Green Future Initiative, she is also working towards supporting vulnerable communities with biogas systems.

However, turning biogas technology into a widely accessible solution requires more than innovation.
Cost, technical expertise, maintenance, availability of organic feedstock, community acceptance and appropriate infrastructure can all influence whether a system works effectively.

That makes education and local capacity important parts of the conversation.

A different way of seeing waste
The central message behind Atsuku's work is about changing perceptions.
Organic waste is often treated solely as something to dispose of. But with appropriate technology and management, some forms of organic waste can become inputs for energy production and agriculture.

Her journey therefore sits at the intersection of several development issues:
Clean cooking.
Waste management.
Agriculture.
Women and youth empowerment.
Sustainable energy.

Her documentary brings these issues together through her personal experience and work with biogas technology.

The 20-minute, 14-second documentary, shot by Visionary Legacies Charity Foundation, explores biogas, clean cooking and the conversion of organic waste into energy and fertilizer.

Can Benue turn waste into opportunity?

Atsuku's story raises a question that goes beyond one entrepreneur or one technology:
Can Benue develop more practical ways to turn agricultural and organic waste into useful resources?

There may not be one answer.
But conversations around locally appropriate clean-energy technologies could help communities, innovators, policymakers and development organisations examine what is possible.

For Atsuku, the journey began with the challenge of firewood.
Today, she is asking people to look at waste differently.

Not simply as something to discard—but as something that could, with the right technology and management, become part of a solution.

🎥 Watch the documentary https://youtu.be/3mIXXv5xLcU?si=62tj-WtS5LDg82ds


📖 Read the previous stories
Day 1: https://benueinfo.com/article/from-firewood-to-biogas-how-benue-woman-mercy-atsuku-is-turning-waste-into-clean-energy?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=article_share

Day2: https://benueinfo.com/article/the-hidden-cost-of-firewood-why-mercy-atsuku-is-searching-for-cleaner-cooking-solutions?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=article_share

Day 3: https://benueinfo.com/article/biogas-explained-how-mercy-atsuku-is-turning-organic-waste-into-clean-cooking-energy?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=article_share

Benue Info-pedia distinguishes between Atsuku's personal experiences and independently established facts. Technical and programme-related claims attributed to Atsuku are presented as such.