Currently, there is an alarming increase in food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries throughout the world. This will be seen particularly in the countries of the Global South (developing countries). Many countries are trying to show efforts to keep agriculture, food industry and markets running, the supply chains and access to the markets and affordable food is still not secured. Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are going to/or already have affected the poor and other marginalised groups, mainly those with less purchasing power. It is necessary to mitigate the pandemic's impacts across the food system, enhance the resilience of food systems and avoid any potential food shortages. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of past pandemics and tries to synthesise the main lessons learned from these while also outlining visions of post-COVID-19 agriculture and the effects on food security.

Biogas technology has the potential to achieve at least eight of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study assessed household biogas consumption against firewood and its socioeconomic and environmental impacts with regard to achieving the SDGs in the Iganga District, Uganda. In addition, factors hindering the adoption of biogas technology were assessed. Data were collected from 314 respondents using a questionnaire, interview, and observation. A mixed analytical approach combined descriptive analysis, multivariate analysis of variance and one-way analysis of variance tests to compare the impacts of biogas and firewood use and identify factors hindering the adoption of biogas technology. Results show that biogas consumption contributed to higher socioeconomic, health and environmental benefits than firewood. Biogas positively impacted SDG7, and indirectly, SDGs 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 13. An estimated 46.9% of households perceive biogas as a clean fuel. The factors motivating biogas consumption include its smoke-free nature, women and children having more time to engage in other development activities and reduced time spent on cooking. In conclusion, biogas offers higher impacts on SDGs compared to firewood. Reviewing the current national renewable energy promotion frameworks to provide biogas subsidies to households and investors can contribute to increasing biogas consumption in households.

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The development and efficient use of renewable energy technologies is essential to sustain access to clean energy for all. In developing countries, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of biogas production to contribute to the decarbonization of the energy supply. This study aims to assess the quality of biogas produced from household biogas plants in rural areas of Cameroon. Through snowball sampling, data were collected from forty-five (45) functional biogas plants across the five agroecological zones of the country. Biogas was analyzed using the portable BIOGAS 5000 gas analyzer and compared for different designs of biogas plants and geographic locations. The results show on average that the floating drum biogas plant produced biogas with a higher methane content (57.90% v/v) than the floating drum design (55.30% v/v). The mean carbon dioxide content is 38.80% v/v for the fixed dome and 30.25% v/v for the floating drum biogas plant. Statistical tests indicate that the location of the biogas plant affected the methane content of the biogas produced. The feedstocks and design of biogas plants varied with the different agroecological zones of the country, and majorly accounted for the different qualities of biogas. The quality of biogas in Cameroon is within the reported range (average) of biogas quality in developing countries. However, it is still essential to promote the production of biogas with optimal quality in the country.

The sustainable production and use of small-scale biogas energy is needed to ensure clean household energy access in developing countries including the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. This is influenced by market risks which can be identified as political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental (PESTLE). This study examines peer-reviewed and grey literature for the period from 2000 to 2020 to identify the PESTLE constraints and assess their impact on the sustainable deployment of the technology in the SSA region. The production of biogas with small-scale plants is commonly by rural and peri-urban households. Results show that economic constraints are the most dominant and reducing at a slow pace. This is followed by political constraints which have received much attention in the last two decades. Despite the provided policy improvements, national bioenergy policies and interventions are still to make significant gains, especially in the Central African region. In order of significance, the Southern, East and West Africa regions have made comparably larger progress in reducing the constraints. However, to achieve sustainable development of the technology, there is need to further address the PESTLE constraints at national and regional level. This study partly deduces that the unsustainable production, use and inadequate regulation of the small-scale biogas sector is delaying its transition in the SSA region.