Contribution of improved charcoal kilns to the households’ income in Kilindi District, Tanzania
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Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Contribution of improved charcoal kilns to households’ income is not well documented.
This study analysed contribution of improved charcoal kilns to households' income in
Kilindi district by focusing on; characterizing charcoal producers, economic contribution
of improved charcoal kilns and examining factors underlying the use of improved
charcoal kilns. The study used questionnaires and checklists to collect data from 200
charcoal producers. Gross margin was used to analyse the contribution of improved kilns
to the household income while logistic model was used to examine factors influencing the
use of improved kilns. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize charcoal production
kilns and extent of usage. Results indicated that about 40% and 60%of charcoal producers
use improved kilns and traditional kilns respectively. The results of profit analysis
showed that charcoal contributes about 82% of the total income of the households
engaged in charcoal production, followed by on farm activities which contributed about
16%. The analysis further showed that producers who use improved kilns had a gross
margin of 62% while those who used traditional kilns had 47%. This implies to every
TZS 10 000 sales of a charcoal producers retains TZS 6200 and TZS 4700 as a profits
when using improved and traditional kilns respectively. The results further showed that
age of a producer, membership to charcoal social networks, level of income, producer
training and positive perception towards improved charcoal kilns significantly influence a
producer to choose improved kilns in the production. The marital status variable
significantly reduces likelihood of producer using improved charcoal kiln. The study
emphasises the use of improved kilns to increase efficiency and profit margins since the
technology is highly profitable as compared to traditional kilns.
Description
M.SC. Dissertation
Keywords
Improved charcoal, Charcoal kilns, Households’ income, Kilindi District, Tanzania, Livelihoods