Ethanol as a Clean Cooking Alternative in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from Sugarcane Production and Ethanol Adoption Sites in Malawi and Mozambique

Nyambane, Anne; Johnson, Francis X.; Romeu–Dalmau, Carla; Ochieng, Caroline; Gasparatos, Alexandros; Mudombi, Shakespear; Maltitz, Graham P Von

doi:10.1007/978-981-15-5358-5_5

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…By definition, transdisciplinary research requires the participation of stakeholders at all stages of the process of knowledge production, from the definition of projects' objectives to knowledge co-production and implementation (Lux et al, 2019). Stakeholder's participation at these different stages can have diverse objectives, from political action and empowerment to more functional aims such as involving end users such as farmers in the process of technology development (Neef and Neubert, 2011). Similarly in Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation (Arnstein, 1969), stakeholders' engagement can be equally diverse, from information gathering or dissemination of research findings only, to high degrees of social learning (Collins and Ison, 2009).…”

Section: Methodology Research Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mobilizing participatory approaches to introduce transdisciplinary research elements when exploring the interface of commodity crop production and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Gasparatos

Maltitz

Ahmed

et al. 2023

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The production of commodity crops such as oil palm, sugarcane, cotton or cocoa has important ramifications for sustainability at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Food security is among the most heavily debated impacts of commodity crop production, especially in developing regions characterized by high rates of malnutrition and food insecurity such as Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Studies have identified diverse pathways through which commodity crop production can have positive or negative impacts on the different pillars of food security. This Methodology paper outlines how different participatory approaches can be mobilized to introduce transdisciplinarity research elements when exploring the adoption and impacts of commodity crop production, especially in developing regions such as SSA. It draws from the lessons learned during the design and implementation of five research projects that explored the food security outcomes of commodity crop production in different countries of SSA. Collectively these research projects mobilized very diverse participatory approaches such as expert interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), participatory mapping, mediated modeling, and participatory scenario analysis. Beyond being instrumental for data collection, these participatory approaches served multiple other research functions. In particular they helped (a) identify research priorities, knowledge gaps, and underlying phenomena, (b) formalize impact mechanisms and develop methodology, and (c) interpret data and validate findings. Furthermore, they contributed to the credibility and relevance of the research, and to a lesser extent to the legitimacy and effectiveness, all of which are considered important principles of transdisciplinary research. Through these diverse contributions they were instrumental in integrating valuable insights from stakeholders holding very complementary expertise in commodity crop value chains at different scales. In this sense they can act as valuable entry points to introduce transdisciplinary research elements in projects exploring the interface of food security and commodity crop value chains (or food systems more broadly), especially in contexts that truly transdisciplinary research is not feasible or desirable.

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Section: Methodology Research Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…-Primary empirical research on land use change and ecosystem services (Romeu-Dalmau et al, 2018;Nyambane et al, 2020), livelihoods (Mudombi et al, 2021), poverty alleviation (Mudombi et al, 2018) and food security (Gasparatos et al, 2022). -Reviews and conceptual advances (Gasparatos et al, 2018b;Schaafsma et al, 2021).…”

Section: Espa2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobilizing participatory approaches to introduce transdisciplinary research elements when exploring the interface of commodity crop production and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Gasparatos

Maltitz

Ahmed

et al. 2023

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

Self Cite

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“…Author details 1 Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Eberswalder Str. 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany.…”

Section: Author Contributionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Almost 80% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)-roughly 780 million people-relies on traditional biomass for cooking [1,2], which is typically associated with negative environmental, health, economic, and social impacts [3][4][5][6][7][8]. The traditional uses of biomass, for example, result in more than 600,000 deaths annually due to ambient air pollution in SSA [9,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward energy saving and food safety in Central Mozambique: the role of improved cook stoves and heat retention boxes

et al. 2022

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Background Almost 80% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa relies on traditional biomass for cooking, which is typically associated with negative environmental, health, economic, and social impacts. Thus, many stakeholders, including development agencies and national governments in the Global South are promoting the use of the improved cookstove in order to save cooking time, save financial assets, maximize fuel efficiency, and reduce indoor air pollution. However, little attention is paid to the heating practices among households, which can determine food safety levels. Specifically, cooked food should be kept at temperatures above the danger zone (from 5 to 57 °C) prior to its consumption to prevent its contamination by bacteria and other unhealthy contaminants. In general, many studies address food preparation and storage separately, despite being complementary. In this study, we attempt to understand whether, the use of improved cookstove combined with heat retention box would result in improvements with regard to fuel and time saving, and adequate food storage temperatures. Furthermore, we examine the acceptability of food prepared with these two systems based on consumers’ preference analysis. Involving 122 participants, the study was conducted in Gurué district, central Mozambique. Results The use of improved cookstove resulted in energy savings of 9% and 17% for cooking maize porridge and beans curry, respectively. The overall time consumption for cooking decreased by 14% (beans curry) and 24% (maize porridge). The use of heat retention boxes shows a better heat retention ability as compared to the locally used heat retention systems (leftovers, banana leaves). Conclusions The study concludes that improved cookstove is a sustainable mean for saving cooking time and fuel. Heat retention box has a potential to maintain adequate food storage temperatures. Both improved cookstove and heat retention box present a superior performance compared to traditional technologies; thus, can easily be diffused for not affecting the quality of food.

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“…Studies show that around 97% of Malawian households depend on charcoal as their energy source for cooking and heating, despite various alternatives that have been introduced in the country [14,15,16]. The market for charcoal is thus, high in Malawi due to the increased demand resulting into deforestation, and consequently, weakening of agricultural productivity, food security and hydroelectric power generation [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind Energy Potential by the Weibull Distribution at High-Altitude Peruvian Highlands

2021

ijSmartGrid

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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 in Mphate area of Ntcheu district (central Malawi). Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used and purposive and random sampling techniques were applied in two different stages respectively. The first phase was selection of the village where residents produce and use charcoal, and the second phase was the selection of charcoal producers. Data was analysed 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 such as briquettes (8%), biogas (2%), solar (1%), electricity (20%) and coal (1%). In addition, 42% of the respondents produce charcoal as 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 hydro-electricity which is expensive. It is concluded that increased charcoal production constitutes a serious setback to transitioning to alternative sources of energy. There is need to intensify afforestation programs in the area targeting the charcoal producers such as providing tree seedlings. There is also need to provide soft loans to charcoal producers to engage in other income generating activities and promoting existing small businesses to wean people from dependency on charcoal.

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Ethanol as a Clean Cooking Alternative in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from Sugarcane Production and Ethanol Adoption Sites in Malawi and Mozambique

Cited by 7 publications

References 74 publications

Mobilizing participatory approaches to introduce transdisciplinary research elements when exploring the interface of commodity crop production and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Mobilizing participatory approaches to introduce transdisciplinary research elements when exploring the interface of commodity crop production and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Toward energy saving and food safety in Central Mozambique: the role of improved cook stoves and heat retention boxes

Wind Energy Potential by the Weibull Distribution at High-Altitude Peruvian Highlands

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