Assessing the nexus between household dynamics and cooking energy choice: Evidence from Kaduna state, northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Cooking is the most energy-intensive activity in the household sector. In developing countries, it accounts for about 90% of the total domestic energy use. With this, knowledge of its dynamics in terms of energy choice and use is imperative. This study explored the nexus between household dynamics and cooking energy choice in Kaduna State, Northwestern Nigeria. Data were collected from 400 households with the aid of a structured questionnaire following a multi-stage sampling approach. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data and a multinomial logit regression model was employed to assess the impact of household factors on the choice of primary cooking energy. The results from the descriptive analysis depict charcoal as the most used cooking energy in the surveyed area, followed by fuelwood and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG). These choices are influenced by cost, accessibility, and availability. Furthermore, the results from the multinomial logit regression analysis indicated that the choice of cooking energy is significantly influenced by household factors such as household size, household income, occupation of household head, marital status, age, and education of the main cook, and the household head. These findings can be crucial for policymakers and organizations working towards promoting clean and sustainable energy, climate change mitigation, and the reduction of household air pollution.