Determinants of households’ primary cooking fuel in Nigeria: Evidence from country-wide study.

Abstract

Energy is critical to human survival. However, the consumption of energy, especially solid fuels, poses important health and environmental challenges that are harmful to well-being. Understanding the determinants of household choice of primary cooking fuel is an important step in designing policies that encourage clean cooking. This study therefore utilises the Nigerian General Household Panel Survey (NGHPS) data to examine the determinants of household primary cooking fuels in Nigeria. Findings from the Multinomial Logistic suggest that increasing access to electricity supply is key for clean cooking. It was also found that the stability of income flow and the infrequency of economic shocks significantly drive households' transition to clean cooking. These findings suggest the need to ensure not just increased access to electricity, but a more reliable supply of it. In adition, an insurance package that guarantees a stable and reliable flow of income will enable households to smoothen their consumption expenditure and prevent fallbacks on polluting fuel, having advanced to cleaner ones.