The stoves are energy-efficient, meaning fewer trees are cut down, and they are healthier because they reduce smoke and harmful gases within households.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has distributed fuel-efficient stoves to 24,500 households in seven local government areas in Borno State.
Al-Hassan Cisse, who heads FAO’s northeast office in Nigeria, said the distribution took place in the Mainari community of the Jere Local Government Area on Monday, December 18.
It was part of agency’s guarantee to provide food security and nutrition – and to ameliorate the effects of climate change.
For years inhabitants of Borno State – particularly those living in rural areas – have been collecting firewood, cutting down thousands, if not more, trees. This has resulted in deforestation in many areas. The trees are cut down but seldom replaced.
The fuel-efficient stoves provide high heat and cook food faster than the local three-stone stoves generally used, meaning a lot fewer trees need to be cut down.
FAO’s intervention began in 2018 when 123,506 households in the Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states were first given fuel-efficient stoves. Funding support came from Norway, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Switzerland, the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) and the Central Emergency Response Fund.
Cisse told RNI that Monday’s intervention was for 2023/2024.
He advocated collaborative efforts to protect the planet by preserving natural resources and taking proactive measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Cisse said post-distribution evaluation of the households that received the stoves in previous years showed that there had been a 50% reduction in firewood usage because of the efficiency of the stoves.
“The reduction in expenditure on fuelwood [firewood] was 58% and the frequency of fuelwood scouting time was reduced from four times a week to 1.5 times a week.
“To enhance the protection of women and children and the environment, FAO, through its Safe Access to Fuel and Energy Programme, is supporting the distribution of SAFE kits to households to reduce any associated risks.”
He said the FAO had established some fuel-efficient stove and briquette production centres across the BAY states which continued to contribute to women’s economic empowerment, job creation and income generation.
The charcoal briquettes were made from recycled waste materials – they are cheap, healthier and efficient and it do not produce smoke or odours.
Yakaka Maina, an energy specialist with the FAO, said some benefits of the fuel-efficient stoves, apart from reducing deforestation and combating climate change, included improving respiratory health and enhanced social protection.
The fuel-efficient stoves were produced using local materials and helped to reduce the smoke and harmful gases within households.
“They also conserve available resources, make preparation of meals for the family easier, there is less indoor air pollution and they are sustainable.”
She agreed with Cisse, saying it was only though collaborative efforts that the natural resources of the planet could be preserved. It was imperative that proactive measures were taken to mitigate the effects of climate change, she said.
Kaka Alhaji, Bulama Mustapha and Falmata Adam Gana, three of this year’s beneficiaries, commended the FAO’s intervention, saying it would have a lasting positive effect on the communities’ resilience.
Adamu Aliyu Ngulde
