Energy Sources For Cooking And The Determinants Of Their Choices In Rural Areas Of Tanzania

ABSTRACT 

Continued use of traditional sources of energy for cooking in rural areas of Tanzania is associated with human health problems such as lung diseases and environmental problems including soil erosion and air pollution. This paper aimed at determining the types of energy sources used for cooking and the determinants of their choices in rural areas of Tanzania. Cross-sectional survey research design through questionnaires was used to collect data from 384 heads of households from rural areas of Njombe and Iringa regions in Tanzania. Multistage cluster sampling technique was employed to sample districts, wards and villages, while rural heads of households were sampled randomly using the fishbowl method to avoid biasness. Descriptive analysis such as frequencies and percentages were used while Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) technique was used to analyze factors determining choices of energy sources for cooking purposes.   

The study show that firewood is the main source of energy used for cooking in rural areas of Tanzania, followed by charcoal, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and electricity.  The study also shows that education, household size, occupation, income, and age of respondents determine the choices of energy sources for cooking in rural areas of Tanzania. The study concludes that, apart from improving rural household income, other intervention such as family planning, reforestation programmers and promotion of the use of modern cooking stoves should be done to ensure provision of sustainable energy sources in rural areas of Tanzania.