Assessment of Alternative Energy Sources to Charcoal in NTCHEU District, MALAWI

Maureen Kapute MZUZA, Lexa SOSIWA

Abstract


Alternative sources of energy are highly recommended in most parts of the world including Malawi. The purpose of this study was to assess the alternative sources of energy to charcoal. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used and purposive and random sampling techniques were applied in two different stages respectively. The first phase was a selection of the village which produce and use charcoal, and the second phase was the selection of charcoal producers. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 21 and MS Excel. About three-quarters of forest cover has been depleted due to charcoal production. Results also revealed that only 32% of the respondents use alternative sources of energy: briquettes (8%), biogas (2%), solar (1%), electricity (20%), and coal (1%). In addition, 42% of the respondents produce charcoal as the main source of income while 58% have other sources of income generation. The main alternative source of energy include; energy produced from farm waste, and biogas in addition to hydroelectricity which is expensive. It is concluded that increased charcoal production and use constitutes a serious setback to transitioning to alternative sources of energy. There is a need for government and policymakers to provide favourable environment for small charcoal producers and provision of subsidies for alternative sources of energy like hydroelectricity. 


Keywords


Charcoal producers, charcoal consumers, forest cover depletion, alternative energy source

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References


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DOI (PDF): https://doi.org/10.20508/ijsmartgrid.v5i4.206.g172

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