Promoting Clean Household Cooking Energy Sources in Rural Areas: A Case Study of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The decade of gas as declared by the federal government of Nigeria, requires more proactive and deliberate ways and means to expand domestic gas utilization. This study assessed the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a cooking energy source among rural households in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. A multistage sampling procedure was used to sample 416 respondents from residents within the Ikwerre communities of River State. A structured interview questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents, these were analyzed using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means, and ranks) and power BI. The study revealed that the mean age of respondents was 36.5 years with the majority being married (55.8%), with the highest educational qualification belonging to the 64.5% bracket of secondary school certificate holders. 94% of low-income earners of less than N30,000 per month are major users of other fuel sources other than LPG, with higher-income earners more likely to use LPG. 76.9% of the respondents asserted that their choice of cooking fuel type is influenced by the high cost of available alternatives. Though LPG is cleaner and most preferred amongst the higher income and middle-class earners, it is generally affected by price instability, frequency of re-filling, fear of explosion, and inadequate refilling stations in interior residential areas. To sustain increasing LPG domestic demand, more awareness amongst rural areas needs to be created, Government must create the enabling economic and infrastructural environment to reach and penetrate rural communities.