Providing easy access to affordable energy for cooking
Maiduguri, Nigeria—As part of efforts to control deforestation and enhance food and nutrition security, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has trained 100 local producers/fabricators on energy-efficient stove, called ‘Dadin Kowa’, to provide easy access to affordable and sufficient energy for cooking and curb the relentless logging of trees for firewood, especially in rural communities.
The training carried out in Maiduguri, Borno state northeast Nigeria, in collaboration with the state government and the International Centre for Energy, Environment and Development (ICEED), with funding provided by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is part of the FAO work on Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE).
Three fuel-efficient stove production centers were established in the state (Maiduguri municipal council, Jere and Konduga Local Government Areas) to produce and distribute around 5,000 stoves to people with very limited access to energy resources.
The FAO Country Representative (FAOR) in Nigeria Suffyan Koroma, represented by the Deputy FAOR Nourou Macki-Tall, delivered the goodwill message at the opening said inadequate access to energy is strongly linked to food insecurity and malnutrition.
Tall, who also coordinates FAO operations in the Northeast, explained, “When sufficient fuel is not available, people might engage in activities that contribute to deforestation and land degradation and thus compound the already heightened impact of climate change. This does not augur well with zero hunger and poverty eradication target as enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
Sufficient energy access is a complex issue, touching on food insecurity and malnutrition, deforestation and climate change, protection risks (harassment, abduction, physical and sexual violence, and even death when going out to collect firewood), and health risks (respiratory illnesses due to smoke inhalation by cooking open fires).
The Governor of Borno state H.E. Alhaji Kashim Shettima represented by the Head of Civil Service, Alhaji Yerima Saleh in his speech, said that the initiative is timely “in view of the fact that the majority of our people in Borno State use firewood for cooking their meals and this practice puts an increasing pressure on our already strained natural resources as they get depleted on daily basis”.
The FAO SAFE approach consists of three main pillars namely reducing energy demand, increasing energy supply and promoting sustainable livelihoods. Since women and children are mainly responsible for collecting firewood and cooking for the family, the issue of energy access is intrinsically linked to issues of gender and Gender-Based Violence.
Related links:
Contact Person
David Karls Tsokar
National Communication Officer
+234 806 616 2876
[email protected]