Firewood more popular among urban dwellers – Survey

According to the survey, 22 per cent of households in urban areas in Kano use firewood while 79 per cent of households in rural areas relied on firewood as their fuel.
In Kaduna, 73 per cent of urban dwellers use firewood while 91 per cent of households in rural area also cook with firewood. But in River State, the use of firewood is not as high as the sampled northern states as only 18 per cent of urban households in the state use firewood and 60 per cent of rural households also use firewood.
Kerosene, charcoal and LPG are other household energy sources survey by the NIAF. In Rivers 62 per cent of urban households use kerosene as against 35 per cent in rural area while in Kano, 49 per cent of urban households use kerosene and 8 per cent of rural households and in Kaduna only 16 per cent of urban households use kerosene and only 5 per cent of rural households use kerosene.
The use of charcoal according to the survey is only popular in urban areas in Kano where 12 per cent of households use charcoal and 11 per cent in rural areas.
Making a presentation at the National Clean Cookstove Market Development Programme which held yesterday in Abuja, Mr Robert J. Van der plas, of Marge noted that indoor air pollution is Nigeria’s third highest killer after malaria and HIV/Aids.
According to WHO, 95,300 deaths, mostly women and children occur annually as a result of smoke from the kitchen.
He said that Nigeria lose 3 per cent of its forest annually, adding that the continuous dependence on the forest for firewood was risky as it is unknown how long wood will still be available.
“Firewood wood is getting more often purchased; a recent NIAF survey shows firewood costs are high, with around 11 per cent of food expenditures for households,” he added.