Abstract:
With increased population pressure and threats presented by climate change, queries are
being raised on the smallholders’ capability to achieve food security, engage in fuel energy
production and contribute in greenhouse gas mitigation through tree planting. The general
objective of this study is to elicit the nexus between biomass cooking energy demand and
utilisation, food production and greenhouse gas emissions, with the latter being associated with
climate change. Specific objectives for the study are enumerated through each of the academic
papers presented from chapter three to six. The papers share a general methodology in data
collection with apprpropriate analytical method adopted to respond to each of the specific
objective. The thesis is organized into seven chapters with Chapter One addressing the
introduction where the background, statement of the problem, general and specific objectives,
and the research questions are enumerated. Chapters Two presents a detailed literature review
on the study topics including an overview on households’ energy demands and choice
determinants, energy demands by cottage industries, households’ greenhouses emission studies
and staple food self-sufficiency among smallholders. A theoretical and a conceptual framework
for the study are also presented. Chapter Three presents the study general methodology
including description of study area, data sources, sampling designs research and tools adpted
and data management. Also presented are the results of the socio-economic characterisation of
the smallholders, description of the agricultural food production, and cooking energy
production and consumption. Chapter Four details both descriptive and analytical results of
determinants of cooking energy choice. In Chapter Five, a paper on the effects of biomass use
and demand and agricultural food production among smallholders is presented where synergies
and trade-off between cooking energy and food production in resources allocation including
labour, capital and land are evaluated. Chapter Six presents a paper on the methodology of
estimating smallholders’ greenhouse gas emissions, upon which levels and determinants of
emissions among smallholders is evaluated. Chapter seven provides a paper assessing the
relationship between cooking energy, food production and greenhouse gas upon which
conclusions and recommendation are provided. This study has shown smallholding farming
system as not only involved in subsistence food production and income generation, but as a
complex ecological management systems addressing households’ needs including food,
income, cooking energy and recreation provisions, and ecological functions including of
carbon dioxide sequestration, conservations nutrient cycling systems, improving water systems
and soil resource.
