Small-Scale Woodlot Growers’ Interest in Participating in Bioenergy Market In Rural Ethiopia

Abstract

Production of value-added outputs from biomass residues represents an opportunity to increase the supply of renewable energy in Ethiopia. Particularly, agroforestry could provide biomass residues for improved bioenergy products. The aim of this study was to characterize the interest of growers to provide biomass residues to a hypothetical biomass feedstock market. This study relied on a survey conducted on a sample of 240 farmers. Although the awareness of potential biomass products was generally quite low, a majority of farmers expressed interest in supplying biomass residues, but the level of interest depended on certain individual socio-economic and demographic characteristics. For example, younger and female household heads were found to be more interested in participating in the hypothetical biomass market, as were households with an improved biomass stove, larger land holdings, and higher income levels. In addition, larger households and those that felt less vulnerable to firewood scarcity also expressed more interest. As a whole, the results imply that farmers, particularly those with younger and female heads of households, should be supported with programs tailored to ensure their inclusion in biomass supply chains. Respondents generally preferred farm-gate sales of biomass, so the collecting, baling, and transporting of woody residues need to be properly incentivized or new actors need to be recruited into the supply chain. Providing households with energy-efficient tools such as improved stoves would not only increase demand for biomass products, but also increase the amount of biomass residues that could be supplied to the market instead of used at home.