Cleaner cooking with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Northern Ghana: Interdisciplinary experiment measuring willingness to pay, behavior change, and impacts on personal exposure

Abstract

Introduction: Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is promoted as a clean cooking fuel to replace biomass in many low- and middle-income countries, but LPG use is low in many regions. An experimental study was conducted (Jan 2017-Dec 2018) in the Kassena-Nankana Districts of northern Ghana to examine demand for LPG, stove use patterns, and impacts on personal exposure to air pollution.Methods: To measure willingness to pay (WTP) for LPG stoves and fuel, we conducted a Becker-Degroot-Marshack auction with 262 randomly selected urban participants. Participants bid on 6 stove-fuel packages that included a 1-burner stove, a 2-burner stove, or no stove; all packages included an LPG cylinder and fuel refill vouchers, and some included home delivery of fuel refills. To investigate effects of LPG package purchases on cooking behaviour, stove use monitoring with temperature loggers and surveys was conducted in 56 study households. Forty of these were also enrolled in personal exposure sampling, capturing time-resolved carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter exposure over multiple 48-hour periods for primary cooks.Results: Of 262 participants, 182 (69%) won an LPG package. The highest-valued package included a 2-burner stove with home delivery of fuel refills. WTP for 1- and 2-burner LPG stoves was close to their market value, while average WTP for the fuel package (an LPG cylinder plus 4 fuel refills) was about $29 compared to its market value of $110. LPG stove purchases resulted in decreased use of charcoal stoves and increased use of LPG; further analysis of adoption and disadoption trends using stove use monitoring and assessment of impacts on exposure are underway.Conclusion: Affordability of LPG fuel may need to be addressed to increase sustained use of LPG in the study area. In addition, cylinder recirculation and LPG home delivery strategies should be explored to increase LPG access.