CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Households require energy for cooking and this need for cooking energy is invaluable giving the basic requirements of man for food. Energy requirements for cooking account for 90% of all household energy consumption in developing countries (GTZ, not dated). Households generally use a combination of energy sources for cooking, and IEA (2006) categorized it as traditional (dung, agricultural residues and fuel wood), intermediate (charcoal and kerosene) or modern (such as LPG, biogas, ethanol gel, plant oils, dimethyl ether (DME) and electricity). The terms traditional, intermediate and modern relate to how well-established a fuel is and do not imply a ranking. In developing countries, especially in rural areas, 2.5 billion people rely on biomass, such as fuel wood, charcoal, agricultural waste and animal dung to meet their energy requirements for cooking (IEA, 2006). Household use of biomass in developing countries alone accounts for almost 7% of world primary energy demand (IEA, 2006). An estimated 72% of Nigerians depend solely on wood as a source of fuel for cooking (NBS-CNB-NCC, 2011). The use of traditional energy sources for cooking like fuel wood is prevalent in the rural areas and is the only affordable energy source for some households. Though, these households who are dependent on fuel wood for cooking still make use of kerosene (an intermediate source) to light the fuel wood in the study area.

        Evidence from Nigeria indicates that a considerable number of households still remain consistent on fuel wood energy consumption (Nnaji et.al., 2012; Onyeneke et. al., 2015). In the absence of new policies, the number of people relying on traditional biomass (such as fuel wood, charcoal, etc) to meet their energy needs for cooking globally, will increase from 2.5 billion today to 2.7 billion by 2030 (IEA, 2007). The reasons for this heavy dependence on biomass energy for cooking has been attributed to many factors, prominent among which is inadequate income to purchase modern and cleaner cooking energy materials. Use of fuel wood raises concerns because it is harvested unsustainably, combustion technologies are inefficient and there are serious adverse consequences for health, the environment and economic development (IEA, 2006). Time and effort allocated to fuel collection by mostly children and women in these farming households could be used for other activities like education or income generation. Environmental damages such as land degradation, deforestation and air pollution may arise from the unsustainable cutting of trees for fuel wood as well as emissions from the biomass cooking source. Inefficient energy use is a dominant contributor to climate change, accounting for around 60 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.

        Various theories have been propounded on cooking energy use. The energy “ladder” model presupposes that households switch from traditional energy sources to modern energy sources (up the ladder) at the speed and extent allowed by factors such as rising socioeconomic status (Dickinson, 2015). The opportunity cost of women’s time particularly for those women who work outside the household has also being shown to have a major impact in fuel switching (Masera et. al., 2000). The energy ladder theory assumes that all forms of cooking devices (traditional and improved) are available, that there is a universal set of stove preferences, and that households will choose to move up the ladder as soon as they can afford to do so. However, the energy ladder theory assumes a linear progression which implies moving up the ladder and a corresponding abandonment of the lower level cooking energy sources. This model assumes implicitly that households use a single energy source for cooking at any given time (Dickinson, et. al., 2015). The use of traditional sources of energy or fuel wood illustrates energy poverty among households and is associated with the lowest scale of the ladder. This traditional energy source is associated with higher levels of indoor pollution, wasted time especially by women and children for collecting firewood, unreliability of supply and local environmental degradation

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

An analysis of the pattern and determinants of household cooking energy consumption has been the focus of previous studies. These studies have shown that rather than moving linearly up the ladder, households often use multiple cooking energy materials (energy stacking) to meet their cooking needs at a particular time (Masera et.al., 2000; Elias and Victor, 2005; Dickson, et. al., 2015). This energy ‘stacking’ allows households greater flexibility and they can use different types of stoves for different purposes or alternate among different fuels (moving up and down the ladder) depending on availability and cost (Dickson, et. al., 2015). Farming households in this study are regarded as families whose major occupations are farming. In Nigeria, farmers make up to 60% of its population and they reside in the rural areas. These farmers are comprised of both subsistence and small scale farmers. Their contribution to agricultural production though little with regards to individual efforts are significant as a group. The time and energy spent on cooking with inefficient fuel sources reduces the time and energy that could be spent on other productive activities. More so, women and children also suffer most from indoor air pollution because they are traditionally responsible for cooking and other household chores, which involve spending hours by the cooking fire exposed to smoke (Ishaya, 2009). Goal 7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals targets ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Against this backdrop, this study seeks to ascertain the determinants of farming households’ preference for various cooking energy materials; estimate the quantity of various cooking energy used by the farming households, as well as determine the socio-economic factors influencing their use of various cooking energy sources. For this study, the household cooking energy sources considered were; fuel wood (firewood and charcoal), kerosene and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). It is to this regard that the study is based on the determinant of shifts in home holds cooking energy choice in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria using multinomial logit model.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main aim of the research work is to examine the determinant of shifts in home holds cooking energy choice in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria using multinomial logit model. The specific objectives of the study are:

1.  to determine the various types of home holds cooking energy in Lagos State.
2. to investigate the factors affect the home holds cooking energy choice in Lagos Metropolis
3. to use the multinomial logit model to predict the most preferred homeholds cooking energy in Lagos Metropolis
4. to proffer solution to the above problems

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study came up with research questions so as to ascertain the above stated objectives of the study. The following research questions guide the objectives of the study:

1. What are the various types of home holds cooking energy in Lagos State?
2. What are the factors affect the home holds cooking energy choice in Lagos Metropolis?
3. Can the multinomial logit model be used to predict the most preferred homeholds cooking energy in Lagos Metropolis?
4. What is the solution to the above problems?

1.5 STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESIS

H0: the multinomial logit model to predict the most preferred homeholds cooking energy in Lagos Metropolis is not effective

H1: the multinomial logit model to predict the most preferred homeholds cooking energy in Lagos Metropolis is effective

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study on the determinant of shifts in home holds cooking energy choice in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria using multinomial logit model will be of immense benefit to the entire Lagos State. The study will explore the various types of home holds cooking energy in Lagos State and how to use the multinomial logit model to predict the most preferred homeholds cooking energy in Lagos Metropolis. The study will serve as a repository of information to other researchers that desire to carry out similar research on the above topic. Finally the study will contribute to the body of the existing literature on the determinant of shifts in home holds cooking energy choice in Lagos Metropolis

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study on the determinant of shifts in home holds cooking energy choice in Lagos Metropolis will cover for a period of 15 years (2004-2019)

1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work