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. 2018 Dec;15(4):716-728.
doi: 10.1007/s10393-018-1351-4. Epub 2018 Aug 14.

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) Supply and Demand for Cooking in Northern Ghana

Maxwell Dalaba  1 , Rex Alirigia  2 , Elise Mesenbring  2 , Evan Coffey  2 , Zachary Brown  3 , Michael Hannigan  2 , Christine Wiedinmyer  2 , Abraham Oduro  1 , Katherine L Dickinson  4
Affiliations

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) Supply and Demand for Cooking in Northern Ghana

Maxwell Dalaba et al. Ecohealth. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Like many other countries, Ghana relies on biomass (mainly wood and charcoal) for most of its cooking needs. A national action plan aims to expand liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) access to 50% of the country's population by 2020. While the country's southern urban areas have made progress toward this goal, LPG use for cooking remains low in the north. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to characterize the current state of the LPG market in this area and examine opportunities and barriers to scale up LPG adoption. We interviewed 16 LPG suppliers (stove, cylinder, and fuel vendors) as well as 592 households in the Kassena-Nankana Districts (KND) of Ghana. We find large rural-urban differences in LPG uptake: less than 10% of rural households own LPG stoves compared with over half of urban households. Awareness of LPG is high across the region, but accessibility of fuel supply is highly limited, with just one refilling station located in the KND. Affordability is perceived as the main barrier to LPG adoption, and acceptability is also limited by widespread concerns about the safety of cooking with LPG. Transitioning to a cylinder recirculation model, and providing more targeted subsidies and credit options, should be explored to expand access to cleaner cooking in this region.

Keywords: Behavior change; Cookstoves; Fuel supply; Household energy; Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); Technology adoption.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Map of the study area showing locations of LPG suppliers and sampled households.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of stove types sold in businesses carrying LPG stoves, with photographs of typical stove models.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Plot of regression coefficient point estimates (circles) and 95% confidence intervals (lines) from linear probability model for LPG ownership among urban households. n = 298 (urban households only), R2 = 0.35.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Reasons given by rural and urban household survey respondents for not having an LPG stove. n = 412 (269 rural, 143 urban).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Stove features rated as the most important in the household survey, by respondent type and location.
Figure 6
Figure 6
LPG suppliers’ perceived effectiveness of different policy options in encouraging LPG use in the KND. n = 16.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Household survey respondents’ ratings of policy effectiveness, by respondent location. Figure shows the percent of respondents in each subgroup that selected each policy as the most effective policy to increase LPG adoption in the KND.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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