Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Valuation of fuelwood from agroforestry systems: a methodological perspective

  • Published:
Agroforestry Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article presents a methodology for the valuation of agroforestry with respect to fuelwood supply for cooking and its opportunity cost. The share of fuelwood consumption declined gradually from 78 to 67% and 30 to 14% for cooking in rural and urban India, during 1993–94 to 2011–12, respectively. However, the total consumption of fuelwood increased significantly from 106 to 130 million tonnes (Mt) in the corresponding period due to population growth. Fuelwood and chips are in the process of substitution with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) gradually and many LPG-adopter households continued to use fuelwood as well. The results verified that the maximum quantity of fuelwood for cooking was obtained from agroforestry systems (64%), followed by forests (24%), and from common property resources (12%) during 2011–12. The annual total calorific energy generated from agroforestry through fuelwood, was estimated at 1297.4 PJ, valued at US$ 4053 million. Around 103 Mt of dry dung cake needs to be burnt to generate the same amount of energy. It is estimated that by replacing dung cake by fuelwood derived from agroforestry systems, could save US$ 1116.6 million annually, sparing the dung cake for use as farmyard manure. In another scenario, if entire energy derived from fuelwood obtained from the agroforestry system is to be replaced by LPG, it would require over 196.4 million additional domestic LPG connections that would incur an expenditure of about US$ 36,487.5 million at the country level for the year 2011–12.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arnold JEM, Kohlin M, Persson G, Shepherd, RG (2003) Fuelwood Revisited: What has changed in the last decade? Centre of International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Occasional Paper No. 39, Bogor, Indonesia

  • Bhattacharya SC, Salam Abdul P (2002) Low greenhouse gas biomass option for cooking in the developing countries. Biomass Bioenergy 22:305–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CAG (2019) Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. Union Government (Commercial). Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas No. 14 of 2019 (Performance Audit), Comptroller and Auditor General of India

  • Census of India (2011) Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India

  • CSO (2014) Report of the sub-committee on agriculture and allied sectors, estimation procedures for the valuation of agricultural products, Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi

  • CSO (2015) Changes in methodology and data sources in the new series of national accounts, base year 2011-12, Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi

  • Dikshit AK, Brithal P (2010) Environmental value of dung in mixed crop-livestock systems. Indian J Anim Sci 80(7):579–682

    Google Scholar 

  • Eurostat (2019) Wood as a source of energy: Statistics Explained. Accessed from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Wood_as_a_source_of_energy

  • FAO (1997) Regional Study on Wood Energy today and Tomorrow in Asia, Field document No. 50, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Bangkok

  • FAO (2010a) What woodfuels can do to mitigate climate change? FAO Forestry Paper No.162, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

  • FAO (2010b) Woodfuels and climate change mitigation: Case studies from Brazil, India and Mexico. Forests and Climate Change Working Paper No. 6, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

  • FAO (2012) Yearbook of Forest Products. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2014) State of the World’s Forests 2014: Enhancing the socioeconomic benefits from forests. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2015) Wood Fuels Handbook. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Pristina

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2016a) Forestry for a low-carbon future: integrating forests and wood products in climate change strategies. Forestry Paper No. 177, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2016b) State of the World’s Forests 2016, Forests and agriculture: Land use challenges and opportunities. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2016c) Yearbook of Forest Products. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2018) The State of the World’s Forests: Forests Pathways to Sustainable Development. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FSI (2009) India State of the Forest Report, 2009. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, Dehradun, India

    Google Scholar 

  • FSI (2011) India State of the Forest Report, 2011. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, Dehradun, India

  • GIZ (2015) Towards sustainable modern wood energy development: Stocktaking paper on successful initiatives in developing countries in the field of wood energy development. Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Bonn, Germany

  • GoI (2016a) Agricultural Statistics at a Glance-2015, Directorate of Economics and Statistics. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • GoI (2016b) Annual Report, 2015-16. Ministry of Chemicals and fertilizers, New Delhi

  • GoI (2016c) Annual Report, 2015-16. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, New Delhi

  • GoI (2016d) Annual Report, 2015-16. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, New Delhi

  • GoI (2016e) Assessment report: Primary survey on household cooking fuel usage and willingness to convert to LPG. Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India

  • Gould CF, Urpelainen J (2018) LPG as a clean cooking fuel: Adoption, use, and impact in rural India. Energy Policy 122:395–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregersen H, Draper S, Elz D (1989) People and trees, Economic Development Institute of World Bank

  • ICAR (2009) Hand Book of Agriculture, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi

  • IEA (2015) India Energy Outlook. World energy outlook special report, International Energy Agency, Paris, France

    Google Scholar 

  • IEA (2017) Energy Access Outlook 2017: From poverty to prosperity. International Energy Agency, Paris, France

    Google Scholar 

  • IEA (2018) Energy efficiency 2018: Analysis and outlooks to 2040. International Energy Agency, Paris, France

    Google Scholar 

  • IFPRI (1992) Priorities for forestry and agroforestry policy research: Report of an international workshop / edited by Hans Gregersen, Peter Oram, John Spears. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC

  • IPCC (2012) Renewable energy sources and climate change mitigation: special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Joon V, Chandra A, Bhattacharya M (2009) Household energy consumption pattern and socio-cultural dimensions associated with it: A case study of rural Haryana, India. Biomass Bioenergy 33:1509–1512

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kursten E (2000) Fuelwood production in agroforestry systems for sustainable land use and CO2-mitigation. Ecol Eng 16:S69–S72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leach G, Gowen M (1987) Household Energy Handbook: An Interim Guide and Reference Manual, World Bank. Technical Paper No. 67, Washington, D.C

  • Leach G (1992) The energy transition. Energy Policy 20(2):116–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews R, Robertson K (2005) Answers to ten frequently asked questions about bioenergy, carbon sinks and their role in global climate change. IEA Bioenergy, Task 38

  • Mishra A (2008) Determinants of fuelwood use in rural Orissa: Implications for energy transition, South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), working paper No. 37–08, Kathmandu, Nepal

  • MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (2010) Status Report on Use of Fuelwood in India. Working Paper, PISCES Research Consortium. London: Department for International Development, 11pp

  • Morelli BS, Cashman M Rodgers (2017) Life Cycle Assessment of Cooking Fuel Systems in India, China, Kenya, and Ghana. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA

  • Natarajan I (1996) Trends in firewood consumption in rural India, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). Margin 28:41–47

    Google Scholar 

  • NCAER (1985) Domestic fuel survey with special reference to Kerosene, Vols 1 and 2, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi

  • Ndayambaje JD, Mohren GMJ (2011) Fuelwood demand and supply in Rawanda and the role of Agroforestry. Agrofor Syst 83:303–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NITI Aayog (2014) Report of the expert group to review the methodology for measurement of poverty, National Institution for Transforming India, erstwhile Planning Commission, Government of India, New Delhi

  • Niti Aayog (2017) Draft National Energy Policy. National Institution for Transforming India, Government of India, New Delhi

  • NSSO (1997) Energy used by Indian households, 50th round (1993-94), National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi

  • NSSO (1999) Common Property Resources in India, Report No. 452, National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi

  • NSSO (2007) Energy sources of Indian households for cooking and lighting, 61st round, (2004-05), National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi

  • NSSO (2012) Energy sources of Indian households for cooking and lighting, 66th round, report No. 542, (2009–10), National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi

  • NSSO (2013) Household Consumption of Various Goods and Services in India, 68th round, report No. 558, (2011–12) National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi

  • NSSO (2013) Key indicators of household consumer expenditure in India, 68th round, report No. 562, (2011–12), National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, New Delhi

  • NSSO (2015) Energy sources of Indian households for cooking and lighting, 68th round, report No. 567, (2011–12), National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, New Delhi, Government of India

  • Pandey D (2002) Fuelwood Studies in India: Myth and reality. Centre of International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Jakarta, Indonesia

  • Panwar NL, Kurchania AK, Rathore NS (2009) Mitigation of greenhouse gases by adoption of improved biomass cookstoves. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change 14:569–578

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parikh K S (2012) India’s emerging energy needs and supply options. Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe), New Delhi

  • PPAC (2019) Ready Reckoner. Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, New Delhi

  • RBI, Handbook of Indian Economy-2015-16 (2016), Reserve Bank of India, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, New Delhi

  • Saxena NC (1993) Forestry policies and woodfuels in India-Problems and prospects. Wood Energy Development: Planning, Policies and Strategies. RWEDP/FAO. Bangkok, RWEDP/FAO 3:55-84

  • Sehgal M, Rizwan SA, Krishnan A (2014) Disease burden due to biomass cooking-fuel-related household air pollution among women in India. Global Health Action 7:1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma PK, Kapoor KK (2005) Problems and prospective of nitrogen fixation in agroforestry systems. Proc Indian Natl Sci Acad B 71(3 & 4):145–161

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma JV (2017) Forestry Sector in India is Net Source of Green House Gases (GHGS). J Environ Sci Eng Technol 5:2–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh M (2013) Is employment generation scheme hampering agricultural development? Agril Sit India 60(6):25–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh P, Gundimeda H (2014) Life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) of cooking fuel sources used in India households. Energy Environ Eng 2(1):20–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sood KK, Mitchell CP (2011) Household level domestic fuel consumption and forest resource in relation to agroforestry adoption: Evidence against need-based approach. Biomass Bioenergy 35:337–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkataraman V, Sagar AD, Habib G, Lam N, Smith KR (2010) The Indian National initiative for advanced biomass cookstoves: the benefits of clean combustion. Energy Sustain Dev 14:63–72

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (2016) Burning opportunity: clean household energy for health, sustainable development and wellbeing of women and children. Geneva, Switzerland

  • WHO (2018) Opportunities for transition to clean household energy: application of the household energy assessment rapid tool (HEART): India. Geneva, Switzerland

Download references

Acknowledgement

The authors are thankful to the ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute for providing facilities to carry out this study. The authors also thankfully acknowledge the time given by Dr Gillian Petrokofsky, Oxford Long-term Ecology & Resource Stewardship lab, University of Oxford (U.K) for editing the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi, 284003, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Mahendra Singh, Sridhar K. Babanna, Dhiraj Kumar, Ragunandhan P. Dwivedi, Inder Dev, Anil Kumar, Rama Kant Tewari & Om Prakash Chaturvedi

  2. Former ADG (Agroforestry), NRM Division, ICAR, New Delhi, India

    Jagdish Chandra Dagar

Authors
  1. Mahendra Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sridhar K. Babanna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dhiraj Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ragunandhan P. Dwivedi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Inder Dev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Anil Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Rama Kant Tewari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Om Prakash Chaturvedi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Jagdish Chandra Dagar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mahendra Singh.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Singh, M., Babanna, S.K., Kumar, D. et al. Valuation of fuelwood from agroforestry systems: a methodological perspective. Agroforest Syst 95, 977–993 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-020-00580-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-020-00580-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation