Impacts of Biogas Technology Adoption on Rural Household Energy Expenditure in South Ethiopia.

Abstract

Despite the fact that there is a large number of biogas plants built in Ethiopia, their contribution in reducing energy expenditure and increasing income has not been fully examined. Therefore, this study examined the impacts of biogas technology adoption on rural household energy expenditure in South Ethiopia. Data were collected from 246 sample households, 123 biogas adopters, and 123 nonadopters. Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select sample households. For data analysis, propensity score matching and binary logistic regression models were used. The logistic regression results showed that access to credit (p ≤ 0.01), access to electronic media (p ≤ 0.05), and farm size influenced the adoption of biogas technology positively and significantly (p ≤ 0.05), whereas distance to water sources influenced negatively and significantly (p ≤ 0.05). The average treatment of the treated unveil that biogas technology adoption reduced household annual energy expenditure, and enhanced household annual income by reducing money spent on fuel purchases. Therefore, the deployment of biogas technology improves rural households' energy supply and increases their annual income. To promote biogas technology adoption and increase rural energy security and income, government energy offices, policymakers, and development partners should capitalize on variables influencing biogas technology uptake.