Household Fuelwood Consumption Research Articles

Household Fuelwood Consumption and Its Implication for Carbon Dioxide Emission

This review paper aims to gather informative data on the impact of climate extremes on the physical environment, public health, and the livelihoods of people in Ethiopia. The primary sources of data for this review were peer-reviewed journal articles obtained from electronic databases such as PubMed, Central, Scopus, and Web of Science. Globally, the vast majority of households in developing countries depend on wood energy for their daily energy needs. Such consumption trends are expected to remain a common feature of traditional wood energy production and consumption, at least in the short- to medium-terms. This situation increases the demand for firewood and charcoal from the forest. The process of harvesting standing trees for charcoal and fire wood leads to forest degradation. Although woody biomass has the function of energy consumption, and as a source of income for rural villagers and urban poor dwellers practicing agriculture, wood energy generally has low priority in national policies of developing countries. However, unsustainable management and negative environmental consequences in humid and dry forests is derived from the use of fuel wood energy. Still now there is an unsystematic assessment of the economic contribution and environmental consequences of wood energy use, so its significance and consequences have been minimized. This deforestation and forest degradation contributes 1–2.4 Gt CO2e of greenhouse gases, which is 2–7% of global anthropogenic emissions, with global greenhouse gas emissions mostly CO2.

Determinants of Household Fuelwood Consumption in Public Residential Estates in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria

The type of energy utilized by households is a good reflection of the quality of life and socio-economic development in any given country. Unfortunately, the continued dependence on traditional fuels such as fuelwood as a major source of energy for domestic purposes particularly in Nigeria is generating concerns due to its negative environmental, socio-economic and health effects. This study was therefore undertaken to examine the factors that drive household fuelwood consumption in public residential estates in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. A survey questionnaire was used to elicit data from a sample of 355 household-heads that were selected using systematic random sampling technique from a population of 3,192 households. The data were analyzed using Ordinary Least Square regression analysis. The results revealed that gender, marital status, larger household size and prices of alternative fuels had positive and significant correlation with the quantity of fuelwood consumed in households while higher level of education, higher income; location of residence, share of dwelling and prices of fuelwood were significant and negatively related to fuelwood consumption. It is recommended that stakeholders and policy makers in the energy sector should vigorously promote access to affordable and modern energy sources for household cooking activities by subsidizing the prices of modern fuels and increasing the availability of electricity supply to households. This will go a long way to reducing the rate of indoor air pollution and other environmental consequences associated with the use of fuelwood in the study area. Finally, there is the need for proactive enlightenment campaigns with a view to strengthening public awareness on the deleterious effects of the consumption of solid fuels such as fuelwood in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

Analysis of Household Fuelwood Consumption as Cooking Energy and the Implications on the Environment: A Case of Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria

This study analysed households fuelwood consumption as domestic cooking energy source and the implications on the environment in Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. A total of two hundred and forty (240) respondents were selected using multistage sampling procedure to elicit information for the study. Primary data for the study was garnered with the use of structured questionnaires and interview schedule and was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from the study revealed that the majority (81%) of the household heads were males with a mean age of 40 years. 83% of the respondents were married and had at least one form of education with secondary education having the highest share of 49%. The average household size of the respondents was 7 persons with majority (52%) of them taken to farming as their main occupation The mean monthly income of the respondents was N43,150. Majority (79%) of the respondents use firewood as their main fuel source for cooking which they obtained mostly at no cost from the forests (44%) and their farmlands (37%). The average cost price of a bundle of firewood stood at N200 in the study area while that of kerosene is N750/litre in the study area. Charcoal is sold at N2500/50kg bag (N50/kg), electricity, N61.5/kwh and gas, N780/kg. The average consumption level of fuelwood by respondents was estimated at 3 bundles daily. The result reveals that lack of cheaper energy alternatives (88%), large family sizes (84%), easy availability (77%) were the main reasons given by the respondents for fuelwood consumption over other sources. The perceived environmental effects of fuelwood utilization were; deforestation (75%), global warming (57%), Indoor and outdoor pollution (53%), and violent windstorms (46%), among others. Marital status, educational status, household size, monthly income and cost of Gas significantly influenced the consumption of fuelwood by households. The study recommends use of alternative and clean energy sources should be encouraged and the corresponding alternative energy technologies made available and affordable to residents to reduce the overreliance of households on the use of traditional energy carriers such as firewood and charcoal, thereby reducing their negative impact on health and environmental degradation. Tree planting campaigns should be embarked upon by both residents and relevant authorities to replenish the depleted forest resources and for their sustainability.

Longitudinal analysis and expected evolution of household fuel and stove stacking patterns in rural Mexico

We conducted a longitudinal analysis of the multiple stacking options that emerge from a “Patsari” clean woodburning cookstove dissemination program in rural Mexico, directed to households with-and-without previous access to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The analysis is based on Kitchen Performance Tests applied to 134 households belonging to 10 villages of Central Mexico, where household fuelwood consumption before-and-after the installation of the Patsari cookstove was measured. The analysis showed that: a) from the initial two categories of users (Open Fire and LPG) the adoption of Patsari stoves led to the emergence of six categories of users or stacking options (Patsari-alone; Patsari-LPG; Patsari-LPG-Open fire; Patsari-Open Fire; LPG-Open Fire; Open Fire-alone); b) when LPG is used in combination with open fires, there are negligible fuelwood savings; c) the largest reduction in emissions with regards to open fires is observed for the Patsari-only users (47.5%); and d) the adoption of Patsari cookstoves led to 39% fuel savings for exclusive fuelwood users and 48% for mixed LPG-fuelwood users. We conducted a Markov Chain analysis to explore the likely future evolution of user groups assuming a continuation of the Patsari stove implementation program. We found that instead of a smooth transition from open fires to Patsari stoves, 62% of the users within five years would be expected to stack different cooking devices, while 34% of the users would only use the Patsari cookstove. It is also expected that 19.63% of households will continue using the open fires either alone or in combination with other stoves.

Thermal Performance Assessment of a Box-type Solar Cooker with an Inclined Collecting Surface and Kapok Wool Insulation

The present work reports the thermal performance of a box-type solar cooker insulated with kapok wool, a local plant with a low thermal conductivity. The experimental results obtained indicate that the absorber plate reached a maximum temperature of 155.2 °C. Moreover, the maximum power of the cooker was 87.5 W with an efficiency of 35.45 %. The first and second figure of merit parameters performed are 0.15 and 0.298 respectively. The cooking test carried out on eggs and rice was conclusive. And it appears that this solar cooker can cook an average of 464 meals per year thanks to the solar energy available in Burkina Faso corresponding to a reduction of 67.62 % in household fuel wood consumption.

Household transitions to clean energy from traditional biomass in Nepal: Challenges and opportunities

In recent years, the Nepal government has recognized and prioritized several clean energy initiatives in its national plans and policies. Despite this, more than two-thirds of households still rely on traditional biomass, as their primary source of energy, for cooking and heating, making the household fuelwood consumption per person in Nepal among the highest in the world. However, why households’ transitions to clean energy for cooking is slow has been poorly understood. Using energy-specific information from the World Bank’s Multi-Tier Framework (MTF) survey and the Nepal government’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), the cooking and heating energy consumption situation of households across the provinces by rural and urban areas is analyzed briefly. Also, a simple levelized cost of cooking is estimated using different fuel-technology combinations. The main findings of this paper are: limited availability, unreliable supply and high costs are hindering households’ transitions to clean energy from traditional biomass; the combination of fuelwood, liquified petroleum gas and other clean energy sources (multiple fuel stacking) are common within the same household; and, the use of biogas, and to some extent, solar power, for cooking is limited to scale and geographical location. It is expected that electricity will be the most economic and common primary clean cooking energy option for households in the future provided that the government has the policy to address the reliability concerns of electricity and that it is affordable for low-income households.

Forest, farms and fuelwood: Measuring changes in fuelwood collection and consumption behavior from a clean cooking intervention

In many developing countries, fuelwood can contribute to 50–90% of all household energy, largely driven by the 2.6 billion individuals dependent on it to meet their daily household cooking energy requirements. This dependency can have negative impacts on forest stocks and climate change. Both, a transition to cleaner cooking and sustainable management of forest resources to ensure long-term supply, are essential for dependent communities. Understanding the forest impacts of fuelwood dependence and potential benefits of clean cooking interventions requires a careful analysis of local forest and agroforestry resources, the particular fuel collection habits of local populations, and the impact of clean cooking technologies on fuelwood consumption. The specific impacts of a cooking transition on fuelwood extraction from forests vs. other sources has been lacking in prior studies. We fill this gap by identifying household fuelwood consumption behavior change (farm vs. forest sources) due to clean cooking solutions implemented in two districts in rural India - Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) in northern India and Koppal (Karnataka) in southern India. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first intervention study that identifies fuelwood collection sources based on the species utilized by households. We conducted in-depth household surveys and physically measured household fuelwood consumption by source (forest or farm). Results indicate that households in Kullu reduced forest dependence, while households in Koppal reduced farm dependence due to clean cooking solutions. We find that a reduction from forests is dependent on a combination of demand (e.g., cooking vs. heating), substitutability of forest resources with farm resources (i.e., quality and availability), and the socio-economic characteristics (i.e., caste, wealth) of the household. Information on the variables impacting household reliance on forest sources would be important for future clean cooking interventions, and other forest resource policy decisions for the region.

Determinants of Household Fuelwood Consumption in Giant Panda Nature Reserves

Fuelwood collection is one of the main human activities threatening giant pandas’ habitats. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the determinants of fuelwood consumption by households inside and around China’s panda nature reserves. Finding these determinants is not only useful in understanding energy consumption behavior, but also for creating more effective policy to protect giant pandas’ habitats. We conducted a questionnaire survey in the Qinling mountain areas of Shaanxi province; 187 effective questionnaires from 16 villages in five nature reserves were collected and analyzed using a Tobit model. The results show that the average fuelwood consumption per household around panda nature reserves was 1.22 t in year 2017, and that there was no significant difference in fuelwood consumption between households inside or outside the nature reserves. Apart from household income, both the number of household members and ownership of energy-saving stoves show significant effects on fuelwood consumption. We conclude that the establishment of these nature reserves has not contributed towards decreasing fuelwood consumption inside the nature reserves, but it has transferred the harvesting location for fuelwood from inside the nature reserve to the outside. Since the increase in household income can significantly reduce the fuelwood consumption, policymakers should focus on how to increase rural household incomes to decrease fuelwood consumption. However, providing rural households around nature reserves with energy-saving stoves tends not to be an effective measure for reducing the fuelwood consumption.

HOUSEHOLDS FUELWOOD CONSUMPTION IMPACT ON FOREST DEGRADATION IN THE CASE OF MOTTA DISTRICT, NORTHWEST ETHIOPIA

Traditional energy sources like fuelwood, charcoal, cow dung, and crop residue are common for household domestic energy consumption in the majority people of the study area as well as in Ethiopia. However, information related the impact of household fuelwood consumption on forest degradation is limited in the study area. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the impacts on households' domestic fuelwood consumption on deforestation and forest degradation in Motta district northwest Ethiopia. A random sampling procedure was employed to select 140 sample households involved in the household survey. Then open ended and close ended semi structured questioners were provide for each sample household. In addition, sample bundle of fire wood and sack of charcoal were measured to quantify households’ traditional measuring unit into standardize biomass unit. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression was performed to examine household fuelwood impact on forest degradation and for identifying main determinant factors affecting households' daily fuelwood consumption. . The result revealed that farmers owned plantation is the main source of fuelwood consumption a species like Eucalyptus globulus. Annually they consumed 2.36 kg/household. Hence, the total communities consumption was around 3,635.51ton dried biomass of fuelwood which is estimated about 1.89 hectare of forest land is degraded due to households’ domestic energy consumption in the study area. The statistical regression analysis also revealed family size and their residence far from fuelwood source had statistically significant different. It is confirmed that household fuelwood consumption had negatively impact of forest resource development and accelerate deforestation and forest degradation rate. Hence, in order to solve deforestation and forest degradation due to forest dependence energy consumption; providing other alternative energy accessibility like electricity, solar energy, biogas, improved cook stove are recommended. KEYWORDS: Fuelwood, Charcoal, Forest degradation, Household energy, Household

Household Fuelwood Consumption Impact on Forest Degradation in The Case of Motta District, Northwest Ethiopia

Traditional energy sources like fuelwood, charcoal, cow dung, and crop residue are common for household domestic energy consumption in the majority people of the study area as well as in Ethiopia. However, information related the impact of household fuelwood consumption on forest degradation is limited in the study area. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the impacts on households' domestic fuelwood consumption on deforestation and forest degradation in Motta district northwest Ethiopia. A random sampling procedure was employed to select 140 sample households involved in the household survey. Then open ended and close ended semi structured questioners were provide for each sample household. In addition, sample bundle of fire wood and sack of charcoal were measured to quantify households’ traditional measuring unit into standardize biomass unit. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression was performed to examine household fuelwood impact on forest degradation and for identifying main determinant factors affecting households' daily fuelwood consumption. . The result revealed that farmers owned plantation is the main source of fuelwood consumption a species like Eucalyptus globulus . Annually they consumed 2.36 kg/household. Hence, the total communities consumption was around 3,635.51ton dried biomass of fuelwood which is estimated about 1.89 hectare of forest land is degraded due to households’ domestic energy consumption in the study area. The statistical regression analysis also revealed family size and their residence far from fuelwood source had statistically significant different. It is confirmed that household fuelwood consumption had negatively impact of forest resource development and accelerate deforestation and forest degradation rate. Hence, in order to solve deforestation and forest degradation due to forest dependence energy consumption; providing other alternative energy accessibility like electricity, solar energy, biogas, improved cook stove are recommended. Keywords: Fuelwood, Charcoal, Forest degradation, Household energy, Household DOI: 10.7176/JETP/10-4-02 Publication date: August 31 st 2020

Household fuelwood consumption in western rural China: ethnic minority families versus Han Chinese families

AbstractThis paper examines ethnic differences in fuelwood consumption in rural households, using an original survey dataset from two western Chinese provinces with large ethnic minority populations. We use a Heckman two-stage selection model to explain the quantity of fuelwood consumed conditional on a decision to use fuelwood. We find that ethnic minority families are more likely than majority Han Chinese families to use fuelwood. We also find that a household's off-farm income has a stronger negative effect on the quantity of fuelwood consumed for the ethnic minority families than for the Han Chinese families. In addition, families owning a larger area of forestland are more likely to use fuelwood. Yet the quantity of fuelwood consumed, especially in ethnic minority families, does not increase with owned forestland. Finally, we find that coal, rather than electricity, is a substitute for fuelwood for residential cooking and heating.

Variability of household fuelwood consumption in a rural Sudano-Sahelian context in Burkina Faso

Over 90% of the rural population in sub-Saharan Africa still relies on fuelwood as their primary source of household energy. In this context, recent robust data on fuelwood consumption in rural areas are needed to conceive and implement appropriate energy policies. This paper identifies the factors that determine fuelwood consumption variability in two villages in Burkina Faso, based on a two-year survey of 60 rural households of different size and wealth status. The women who made up the panel were surveyed at five-day intervals over a period of three months in the rainy season, one month in the cold dry season and one month in the hot dry season. Our results corroborate some fuelwood consumption patterns in rural SSA: fuelwood consumption per adult equivalent decreases both with the size of the household and with local wood scarcity. Conversely, it challenges the idea that the level of consumption is correlated with the level of household wealth. Finally, the most important result is that the scarcity of wood resources leads people to buy fuelwood from outside and adopt strategies to reduce their consumption by reducing the number of cooking cycles and certainly by wasting less energy, whatever the level of household wealth.

Collective forest tenure reform and household energy consumption: A case study in Yunnan Province, China

The recent Collective Forest Tenure Reform in China has started the process of devolving forest management rights from village collectives to households since 2003. In this paper, we study the impact of the reform on rural energy consumption. Devolving forest tenure improves farmers' access to forest products on their newly acquired forestland, and is therefore expected to increase farmers' fuelwood consumption. The reform also allows farmers to adopt some revenue-enhancing forest technologies which may lead to energy switching in farmer households. Our empirical study finds that the devolution significantly increases household fuelwood consumption for both lower and higher income households; the lower income households benefit more. This is welfare-improving in places where alternative fuels are still too costly. We find limited evidence that higher income households in Yunnan begin to substitute alternative commercial fuels for fuelwood when those are available. Our findings suggest further devolution of forest rights, especially in the poor, forest-rich regions.

Analysis of household's energy consumption, forest degradation and plantation requirements in Eastern Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

AbstractThis study examines the link between household's energy consumption, forest degradation and plantation requirements in Eastern Tigray. Data on household's fuelwood, cow‐dung, kerosene and electricity consumption in the study sites were collected from 557 urban and 114 rural households. Deforestation rate was estimated following FAO and Woody Biomass Inventory Strategy Planning Project (WBISPP's) conversion factors. The study showed that household's fuelwood consumption in urban areas (mean = 2.5 kg/day) was about 52% lower as compared to the rural villages (mean = 3.8 kg/day). The estimated area abandoned annually in the vicinity of urban areas as the result of urban fuelwood consumption varies from 217 ha around Maichew town to 12047 ha around Mekelle City. The estimated area abandoned in rural areas annually as the result of tree cutting for fuelwood also varies from 6.5 ha around Sinkata to 127 ha around Dergajen village. It is therefore recommended that an estimated annual tree plantation of area ranging from 286 ha around Maichew town to 21,684 ha around Mekelle city is required. Moreover, an estimated annual tree plantation of area ranging from 16 ha around Sinkata village to 229 ha around the Dergajen village is required taking the existing population into account.

English

Fuel wood remains the main energy source for the majority of the people in Gechi District of South Western Ethiopia. As compared to the situation in the past, the forest cover is now generally very sparse in the densely populated areas where rapid rates of deforestation and forest degradation have occurred due to the heavy demand on forest products, mainly fuel wood. Therefore, this study was conducted with the objective of assessing the impact of fuel wood consumption on the forest resources in Gechi district. The vegetation sampling was conducted in the Chara forest to determine the average volumes of the standing trees per hectare on systematically laid plots along transects. In each plot, data were collected on tree species, plant height, diameter at breast height (DBH) and volume of standing trees per hectare was determined and compared with the household fuel wood consumption. The study revealed that 6529.90 tons of fuel wood had been utilized in Chara, while the standing forest was 10593.75 tons on 125 ha of land implying that 1.76 ha of forest resources was consumed per annum for fuel wood by the community members. The most preferred and extracted tree species from the forest resources of the area for fuel wood were Syzygium guineense, Maesa lanceolate and Albizia gummifera. In order to address the forest resource degradation of the area due to fuel wood utilization as energy sources, the use of efficient energy saving technologies, planting fast growing tree species for use as fuel wood are recommended. Key words: Deforestation, energy, fuel wood, forest.

Fuelwood Consumption and its Impact on Forests in the Teknaf Peninsula on the Southern Coast of Bangladesh

This study focuses on the household fuelwood in the Teknaf Peninsula of Bangladesh. Teknaf Peninsula has a protected forest area which is facing the threat of extinction due to the over dependency of the local people. Among the subsistence activities, harvesting fuelwood from the protected forest area is the most common and also a significant cause for the deforestation. This study aimed to determine the household fuelwood consumption and factors influencing the consumption. Data was collected during March 2015 using structured questionnaire to interview the sampled households. Among the 42 households the average annual consumption of fuelwood per person was found 1168 kg, which is quit higher than other similar studies around the world. Among the considered factors only family size influenced the fuelwood consumption. According to the current reports and our fuelwood consumption study the forest is not capable to provide fuelwood in a sustainable way.

Consumption Patterns of Fuelwood in Rural Households of Dolakha District, Nepal: Reflections from Community Forest User Groups

Biomass plays a vital role in the energy supply of many developing countries. It is the major energy source for the rural population of Nepal, where 70 % of the total energy is derived from woody plant biomass in the form of fuelwood. The main aim of this study is to describe the fuelwood consumption pattern and the role of community forests and trees on private farmland in biomass supply to rural households in Nepal. The study investigates whether demography and socioeconomic attributes of households affect fuelwood consumption. A household survey was conducted, along with measurements of fuelwood mass for six community forest user groups in Dolakha district of Nepal. Average daily household fuelwood consumption was estimated to be 8.4 kg, giving a mean annual consumption of 3060 kg per household. Per capita fuelwood consumption per day was found to be 1.7 kg. Total fuelwood consumption of households is significantly correlated with household size, ownership of cultivated irrigated terraces and number of livestock per household, and negatively significantly correlated with ownership of cultivated rain-fed terraces. Fuelwood consumption varies significantly between seasons. Among various sources of biomass energy, fuelwood from community forests contributes 23 % and trees on private farmland contribute 12 %. The rest is provided from other biomass sources, including the remains of fodder collected from private farmland vegetation, wood previously used for fences and trellises in private farmland, crop residues, and purchased fuelwood.

Effect of fuelwood scarcity and socio-economic factors on household bio-based energy use and energy substitution in rural Ethiopia

In Ethiopia biomass is predominantly utilized for household energy needs often using inefficient rudimentary stoves which cause adverse environmental and welfare effects. This paper examined the contribution of biomass resources to rural household energy use and energy substitution. The analysis applied the ordinary least square in the final stage estimation of fuelwood and overall biomass energy consumption by using predicted shadow prices. The paper used Tobit model to estimate charcoal and agricultural fuel consumption due to the presence of censoring. An increase in fuelwood shadow price was associated with reduced household fuelwood consumption with price elasticity of −0.38. The cross price elasticity between fuelwood and agricultural fuels revealed no evidence of energy substitution, which conforms to the findings of previous studies. Household access to electricity was associated with lower household biomass energy utilization but kerosene was not fuelwood substitute. Household energy use conformed to the ‘fuel stacking’ or ‘multiple fuel use’ concept, but households preferred modern energy options as welfare increased in areas where modern energy is available. This suggests that there is a promising prospect for fuel-transition, but access to modern energy and economic growth have key roles. The findings suggest that a concerted policy effort is required that would help diversify rural livelihoods, improve living standards and encourage economic growth, encourage inter-fuel substitution through improved modern energy access and afforestation to increase biomass supply.

An econometric analysis of residential consumption of fuelwood in a mountainous prefecture of Northern Greece

Biomass is a renewable energy source of increasing importance, especially since the energy policies of countries today are largely focused on renewable energy. It is a renewable energy source with significant potential to contribute to the energy needs of modern society, both for developing and developed countries around the world. One very important source of biomass is wood and fuelwood in particular. This article aims at providing an empirical analysis of household fuelwood consumption and the determinants of the choice to use the specific energy for heating and cooking in a district of Northern Greece. In the current empirical analysis several household fuelwood consumption models are employed, such as GLM, Tobit and Heckman regression-based techniques. The results show that household sociological and economical characteristics as well as more general environmental issues are suitable to explain differences towards fuelwood consumption for space heating and cooking. We additionally evaluate the household fuelwood consumption for heating through the statistical analyses conducted.

Yields and accumulations of N and P in farmer-managed intercrops of maize–pigeonpea in semi-arid Africa

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major staple food in Sub-Saharan Africa but low soil fertility, limited resources and droughts keep yields low. Cultivation of maize intercropped with pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.) is common in some areas of eastern and southern Africa. The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate dry matter, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) accumulation in different plant components of maize–pigeonpea intercropping systems and (2) to report the effects of the intercrops on soil fertility. Maize–pigeonpea intercrops were compared to sole maize grown using farmersȁ9 practices. Intercropping maize and pigeonpea increased (P 0.11). Nitrate and ammonium levels in soil were still not affected by the treatments after the soils were incubated in anaerobic conditions for 8 days at 37°C (P > 0.11). However, pigeonpea added up to 60 kg of N ha−1 to the system and accumulated up to 6 kg of P ha−1 and only 25% of this N and P were exported in the grain. In conclusion, beside the added grain yield of pigeonpea in the intercropped systems, pigeonpea increased the recirculation of dry matter, N and P, which may have a long-term effect on soil fertility. Furthermore, the stems from pigeonpea contributed to household fuel wood consumption. The intercropped system thus had multiple benefits that gave significant increase in combined yield per unit area without additional labour requirements. The main requirement in order to up-scale the maize–pigeonpea intercropping approach is sufficient supply of high-quality pigeonpea seeds.