Assessment of Alternative Energy Sources to Charcoal in Ntcheu District, Malawi

Abstract

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.