Bauchi Govt To Distribute 500,000 Efficient Energy Cooking Stoves To Residents

 

By Khalid Idris Doya 

The Bauchi state Government has set to distribute 500,000 efficient energy cooking stoves to Bauchi residents as part of efforts to end the illegal felling of trees for Charcoal production in the state. 

This was disclosed by Bauchi State Commissioner of Housing and Environment, Hon. Danlami Ahmed Kawule during the ongoing state ministerial press on Wednesday, said this move is to reduce the reliance on firewood and Charcoal for cooking.

He decried the limited knowledge about the production and use of briquettes as an alternative to firewood and charcoal, stressing that  lack of awareness has also contributed to the continued use of firewood and charcoal as cooking fuel which in turn contributes to deforestation, emissions and other health hazards associated with smoke emitted from its use.

The Commissioner said that after assumption of office, the ministry has been organizing sensitization programmes where residents of the state are educated on the importance of tree planting and caring for it till maturity.

Kawule said that under the ministry of environment, a strong committee was established to curtail the production of charcoal in the state, adding that the production of charcoal has reduced drastically in the state courtesy of the efforts of the committee.

On his part, the State Project Coordinator of Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Dr Ibrahim Kabir said that the intervention is geared towards reducing the production of Charcoal and firewood used for cooking to the barest minimum, adding that  3,000 efficient energy stoves will first be launched in the pilot phase to monitor the impact for three months.

“We going to kick-start the full intervention of the 500,000 efficient energy stoves.We are doing that to enforce the executive order under Bauchi environmental Protection Agency. It is not that the state is not doing anything to stop the illegal felling of trees, but the government decided to proffer another alternative to the discourage charcoal production,so the process is ongoing to provide these stoves.”

Also speaking, the director general BASEPA, Mahmud Mohammed Bose, said that the Charcoal production business is a big syndicate, hence the agency is thinking outside the box by converting waste to energy which is an alternative to charcoal.

He said that the agency is partnering with UNICEF and WaterAid where youths will be trained under the safely Managed sanitation programme to convert fecal sludge and other organic waste into briquettes which can be used for energy.

“If this project is successful, it is going to reduce pressure on charcoal consumption in the state. We are also engaging people in aggressive forestation which will also go a long way in minimizing the charcoal business,” he said.