Assessing the Socio-Economic Factors Influencing the Adoption of Improved Cookstoves in Rural Rwanda: Evidence from Rwanda EICV-5

This study aimed to assess the socio-economic factors influencing the adoption of improved cookstoves in rural Rwanda. The increased use of improved cooking fuels is recognized as a potential solution to alleviate pressure on forest resources, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, reduce premature deaths, and offer several economic advantages, including fuel savings through increased efficiency, time savings due to reduced cooking time and potential reductions in healthcare costs associated with indoor air pollution, among others.  The study employed cross-sectional data, to analyse household factors, stove and fuel factors, and institutional factors that affect the decision of households to adopt the improved cookstoves. The sample size consisted of 12,048 households selected from cross-sectional data collected during the Fifth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV-5). Among this sample, 31.45% were adopters while 68.55% were non-adopters of improved cookstoves. The Probit model was used to evaluate the factors influencing households’ decisions to adopt improved cookstoves, while the Tobit model was used to assess factors affecting the frequency of improved cookstove usage. The results of the study provided empirical evidence of a significant positive effect of age of the household head, education level of the household head, income, cooperative membership, access to information and social influence in enhancing the adoption of improved cookstoves. Also, the results showed that access to information, cooperative membership and type of habitat had a significant positive impact on the frequency use of the improved cookstoves. The study recommends strategic policymaking on areas that require emphasis for increasing the adoption of improved cookstoves that will help contribute to economic well-being, alleviate pressure on forest degradation, and reduce environmental and health risks associated with Household Air Pollution (HAP) in the country in general and in rural area in particular. Key words: Adoption, improved cookstoves, household air pollution