The rural household – an energy and food security nexus of global importance

Convener: Erik Karltun, Department of Soil and Environment, SLU

Contact: erik.karltun@slu.se

Energy and food production in rural households has direct implications on global trends in soil fertility and climate change. They are intimately linked since bioenergy and food crops compete for space, water and nutrients in the landscape. There is also a competition in how much economic and labor resources the households can invest in energy and food production. The farm-household decisions on how to produce energy and what and how to manage their agriculture are primarily taken to provide food and monetary income in sufficient quantities but they indirectly determine if the household activities reinforces or mitigates climate change and soil fertility decline. This panel will discuss the potential of technical innovations and interventions that link energy, agriculture and climate at the rural house-hold level in terms of energy-efficiency, agricultural production and climate change mitigation. Examples of win-win energy, agriculture and climate concepts are gasifier stoves that produce biochar for soil amendment, biogas production where the digestate is used as manure or solar panels that can drive irrigation pumps.  Cultural, economic and social factors that influence the acceptance and adoption of new technologies will be another core part of the discussion. Special emphasis will be put on the discussion of gender dimensions as many of the economic activities in concern are dominated by female labor. We envisage discussions across disciplines and technological concepts.

Background: This panel proposal has been developed by a trans-disciplinary group of researchers from Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Lund University (LU), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) currently working with projects on gasifier stoves for more efficient cooking and generation of biochar for soil fertility management.

23 Aug., 16:00–17:30, Seminar Room U29

• An LCA-based evaluation of climate impact of biochar and charcoal in Kenyan smallholder farming households. Petra Sieber, SLU, and Cecilia Sundberg, KTH.
• Potential socio-economic impacts of biochar use on smallholder farmers in Kenya. Yahia Mahmoud, Lund University, Kristina Röing de Nowina, IITA, Cecilia Sundberg, KTH and Mary Njenga, ICRAF.
• Synergies and trade-off among SDGs for energy, clean water and sanitation, poverty alleviation, food security and sustainable agriculture. Brijesh Mainali, KTH, Jari Kaivo-oja, University of Turku, Semida Silveira, KTH, and Jyrki Luukkanen, University of Turku.
• Biochar as a component of climate-smart agriculture in small-holder farming systems in Kenya. Erik Karltun, SLU, Kristina Röing de Nowina, IITA, Geoffrey Kimutai, IITA, Dries Roobroeck, IITA, Gert Nyberg, SLU, and Thomas Kätterer, SLU.

Abstracts

An LCA-based evaluation of climate impact of biochar and charcoal in Kenyan smallholder farming households. Petra Sieber, SLU, and Cecilia Sundberg, KTH.

Diminishing fuel sources, polluting cooking techniques and soil degradation compromise the livelihoods of Kenyan smallholder farmers. To address these challenges, the research project “Biochar and smallholder farmers in Kenya” studies the introduction of domestic gasifier stoves that produce char from locally available biomass, besides providing energy for cooking. While cleaner combustion reduces fuel consumption and emissions that affect health and climate, the char can be used as an energy-rich fuel for cooking (i.e., charcoal), or as a soil amendment and means of carbon sequestration (i.e., biochar). The work reported here aims to estimate the climate impact of introducing char-producing stoves, covering alternatives to source, convert and use biomass in a life cycle perspective; and exploring trade-offs between charcoal and biochar. The Life Cycle Assessment methodology provides the framework to compare two strategies of improved biofuel management with the current practices. A dynamic model developed for this purpose calculates each system’s climate impact when delivering the minimal amount of cooking energy required. Furthermore, the model accounts for fuel consumption, soil amendment and detrimental pollutant emissions. Irrespective of modelling approach and parameter settings, the charcoal and the biochar system show clear advantages over the baseline. Under the assumed circumstances, putting char to soil is the best option from a climate perspective, allowing for savings of 85-157% depending on pollutant set and time frame. Besides the agronomic benefits of an annual biochar application rate of 831 kg per hectare, the biochar system causes the lowest level of indoor air pollution. However, if organic resources are scarce and unsustainably harvested, it may be better to use char for energy and thus save primary feedstocks. In practice, not only differences in fuel use efficiency and soil amendment, but also stove handling and usability will determine how farmers use available feedstocks, and which shares of char they devote to energy and soil, respectively.

Potential socio-economic impacts of biochar use on smallholder farmers in Kenya. Yahia Mahmoud, Lund University, Kristina Röing de Nowina, IITA, Cecilia Sundberg, KTH and Mary Njenga, ICRAF.

Studies show the potentials of biochar in improving soil fertility, reducing fuel demands in food preparation and minimizing exposure to indoor air pollution. In the context of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, these are three key aspects in poverty reduction and health improvement strategies. However, new technology uptake is complex and requires an open mind, flexible approaches and careful assessments in order to tackle existing problems without creating new ones. Effective technology assessment needs thus to be anticipatory, comprehensive and socially inclusive. In order to assess the need for and the feasibility of using biochar in smallholder systems, we are carrying out a long-term study (2013-2019) including 152 households in three districts of Kenya that represent different agro-ecological zones with inherent cropping systems. The survey comprises 304 variables and captures demographics and socio- economic conditions, current fuel energy and stove uses, availability of suitable feedstock for biochar production and its present uses, current fertilizer uses, crops grown and their marketization, as well as the labour division within the household. We are also carrying out qualitative interviews in order to capture the willingness to adopt biochar. Our data shows that there is need for and disposition in these communities to tackle issues of soil fertility, fuel efficiency and exposure to indoor smoke. Besides the impacts that biochar might have on the general economy and health of the household, there is a clear correlation between those activities that biochar will have an impact on and those traditionally associated with female labour.

Synergies and trade-off among SDGs for energy, clean water and sanitation, poverty alleviation, food security and sustainable agriculture. Brijesh Mainali, KTH, Jari Kaivo-oja, University of Turku, Semida Silveira, KTH, and Jyrki Luukkanen, University of Turku.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) comprises of 17 different goals with 169 targets. Understanding how these multiple targets and goals cut across different sectors and are linked may help to design and appraise common strategies and cross-sectoral policies towards integrated development programmes. This paper aims at developing a method for evaluating the synergies (Synergy could be defined as the interaction among two or more targets where their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.) and trade-offs (Trade-off can be defined as a balance achieved between two desirable but incompatible targets or as a situation where the improvement of one target results in the loss or decrease of another.) among various goals and targets within SDGs using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. We have analyzed synergy across four SDGs in developing countries, namely energy access (SDG 7), clean water and sanitation access (SDG 6), food security and sustainable agriculture (SDG 2) and poverty alleviation (SDG 1). These specific SDGs have been identified as priority areas in the Rio+20. Nineteen targets related to the four SDGs have been analyzed in this paper with the use of indicators. Developing countries viz. Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka from South Asia and Ghana, Ethiopia and Rwanda from Africa have been chosen for the analysis. We analyze interactions among goals, and examine how the accomplishment of one target under a specific goal might help to attend multiple goals (mutually reinforcing or synergies), or how the accomplishment of targets under one specific goal might impact targets under another goal (imposing conditions or trade-offs). Network analysis technique has been used for exploring the conceptual linkage among these different indicators capturing the various targets associated with SDGs. Advanced Sustainability Analysis (ASA) approach developed under the European framework programme has been used for quantifying the synergy and trade-off among various SDGs. Based on the analysis, some coherent policy measures across energy, water/sanitation, food and poverty alleviation nexus are suggested.

Biochar as a component of climate-smart agriculture in small-holder farming systems in Kenya. Erik Karltun, SLU, Kristina Röing de Nowina, IITA, Geoffrey Kimutai, IITA, Dries Roobroeck, IITA, Gert Nyberg, SLU, and Thomas Kätterer, SLU.

Biochar produced by gasifier stoves and other pyrolysis systems can be used as a soil amendment and has the potential to improve crop productivity and sequester carbon in the soil. The effects of biochar on maize growth, fertilizer responses and soil properties were tested in greenhouse experiments and on-farm trials. Experiments included practices with exclusive and combined input of NPK fertilizers, biochar and lime using soils from three locations in eastern, central and western Kenya representing different soil types. In every location a specific biochar feedstock was used (coconut shells, coffee husks, and maize stover cobs) comparing four different application rates, i.e. 0, 1, 5 and 10 ton biochar per hectare. Results from pot trials show that after biochar application there were increases in biomass productivity but few significant responses for soil variables. The application of biochar enhanced the responses of crops to fertilizer. It was, however, found that the effective dosage of biochar input for increasing crop productivity and fertilizer responses vary according to location and biochar type. When another set of maize was planted ten weeks after the application of biochar there was a drastic drop in biomass production in pots that exclusively received biochar whereas productivity was sustained in pots that received biochar in combination with fertilizers or fertilizer only. The first season of field trials on three different farmer fields showed a consistent dose response of biochar inputs on productivity of maize for all three locations and types of bio-char. Combining NPK fertilizers with different rates of biochar on maize croplands gave higher yields and consistent increases in fertilizer responses which indicates an improved fertilizer use efficiency, especially in the east of Kenya that experienced drought spells.