Contribution of Bioenergy Production to Household Income and Food Supply in Ethiopia

Abstract

Energy influences the livelihood of human beings in different aspects like food security, agricultural production, health care system, education, employment and sustainability of the environment. Ethiopia faces big challenge in both supply and access to energy in which majority of its rural population live without access to energy. Production of bioenergy is a good opportunity to get access to modern energy in developing countries like Ethiopia where traditional biomass energy is the dominant source of energy. In addition to creation of employment and being source of energy, bioenergy production has multiple advantages in agriculture and food security sector since the bio-slurry is used as organic fertilizer. The study shows that bioenergy production increased the income and thereby increased access to food for the rural households in Ethiopia. This resulted in food security as both quantity and quality of food increases along with the expansion of bioenergy production in the rural community. The result also shows that the increase in household income was from savings resulted in less purchase of other energy sources (kerosene, charcoal, firewood, etc.), increase in agricultural productivity using bio-slurry, and increase in employment in bioenergy sector. Having production potential, it needs to expand bioenergy production to ensure energy and food security in the rural population.