Determinants on the Choice of the Main Source of Cooking Energy by Households in Urban Areas of Tanzania: A Case of Kiwanja Cha Ndege Ward in Morogoro Municipality

Abstract

The study was carried out at Kiwanja cha Ndege ward in Morogoro Municipality by assessing determinants on the choice of the main source of cooking energy by households. This study employed cross–sectional design and collected quantitative data from primary and secondary sources. A total of 150 respondents were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Primary data were collected from respondents through a structured interview method executed through researcher-administered questionnaires. The study used descriptive statistics, the likelihood ratio Chi-Square test, and binary logistic regression analysis using IBM SPSS statistics version 20 and Stata version 11. The results revealed that a large proportion of households used charcoal (84%), followed by gas (11.3%) as the main source of cooking energy. This information implies that households in urban areas prefer mostly using charcoal for cooking. Furthermore, the results revealed that education level, marital status, and main economic activity were the factors that determine the choice of charcoal as the household's main source of cooking energy. The study recommended that the central government, through the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with local government authorities, should create awareness in society on the importance of using clean cooking fuels and technologies. Also, the government of Tanzania should enhance and promote the use of electrical energy as an alternative source of cooking energy in order to protect plant species that are more objects of wood–charcoal use.