Patterns and predictors of household fuel choices in Maswa District, Tanzania

Abstract

This study assessed the spatial and non-spatial patterns of household fuel choice and the factors influencing choices using data from rural and urban areas of Maswa District, Tanzania. Household spatial information was collected using a handheld Garmin Trex Global Positioning System to enable modeling and visualization of energy consumption. The Hot Spot Analysis (Getis-Ord Gi*) method was used to map the clusters of different types of cooking fuels. The non-spatial data were fitted to a Multinomial Logit model to estimate the significance of the factors that influence the choice of cooking fuels. A transition from traditional to modern fuels as explained in the “energy ladder” model suggests that with increasing affluence, a progression is expected from traditional biomass fuels to more advanced and less polluting fuels. Contrary to this model, however, multiple-fuel use or fuel stacking was more prevalent than fuel switching. Fuel stacking constituted traditional (firewood, 63.9% of the households), transitional (charcoal, 66.6%), and modern (kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, and electricity, 25.4%) fuels. Demographic and socioeconomic factors were essential in household fuel choices. Overall, bio-fuels are the most common energy sources both in rural and urban areas, albeit at a varying degree of magnitude and significance. These results suggest the need to increase the production of biomass resources and end-use efficiency while promoting the use of clean fuels.