Biomass Fuel Consumption and Dung Use as Manure - Evidence from Rul Households in the Amrahara Region of Ethiopia

摘要

Soil nutrient depletion is a critical problem, contributing to low agricultural productivity and thelimited domestic food supply in sub-Saharan Africa. Fertilizer use in Ethiopia is one of the lowest insub-Saharan Africa. Particularly in the northern half of the Ethiopian highlands, use of dung as manureis also limited partly because of a significant level of dung consumption as a source of household fuel.Use of dung as fuel is also an important cause of health problems, mainly through indoor air pollution.Plantation interventions are carried out based on the expectation that fuelwood could substitute fordung, thus increasing agricultural productivity. This study examined (1) the determinants of ruralhouseholds’ decision to use dung as fuel and as manure, and (2) the determinants of consumption ofwoody biomass and dung as household fuel sources. We found that the decision to use dung as fuel andmanure was influenced by household assets (such as livestock and land size), as well as householdcharacteristics (such as family size and age-sex composition of members), suggesting the important roleof asset, product, and labor market imperfections. The type of stove and distance to towns alsoinfluenced fuel use. We found no evidence that woody biomass and dung were substitutes as householdfuel, and in fact there were indications that they are complements. These results suggest the need tofocus on asset-poor households to address the limited use of manure. Moreover, energy issues should beconsidered simultaneously. Encouraging the use of more appropriate (or energy efficient) stoves andother sources of energy that can reduce the use of dung as fuel are important options because they canimprove energy efficiency and agricultural productivity, as well as improved health from reduced indoorair pollution.