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Widening access to
rural energy services in Africa:
Looking to the future

Youba Sokona
J ean Phlippe Thoamas
Programme Energie
ENDA-TM, Dakar, Sngal

Introduction

Energy is basic to all human activity. It is indispensable to meeting daily needs (water, food, health, etc.) and to
achieving even minimal economic and social development. To a certain extent, the level of energy consumption
reflects the level of development. Per capita energy consumption in Africa is the lowest in the world: 0.3 to 0.6
toe/person in sub-Saharan Africa compared with 7.5 to 9 in North America (a ratio of 1:30). Moreover,
Africa's energy balance continues to be dominated by biomass which, in its various forms, accounts for two-
thirds of total household energy consumption.

Economic and social development in Africa depends largely on meeting the rapidly growing energy needs of
present and future populations. Africans must increase their energy consumption if they are to achieve social
and economic development goals. Given this, one of the most important questions of our epoch is: howwith
which modalities, at what rate, and using which alternativesshould this essential increase take place?

But this may be jumping the gun, for at the moment, some African countries are finding it hard to maintain their
present energy systems. If African countries are unable to mobilise adequate financial resources to maintain
existing systems, the prospects for future development of energy systems in rural Africa seem doomed. It
seems inevitable then that the present conditions of poverty in rural Africa will continueif not worsenin the
foreseeable future.

Our challenge is, then, to outline sustainable energy strategies for rural Africa. Will it be possible to break
with current energy strategies based on supply and directed primarily by large energy companies? What are the
basic, foundational elements of sustainable energy strategies, that is, of energy strategies that are
economically efficient, environmentally sound, and socially equitable?

1. Common characteristics of rural energy systems in Africa

Despite local and regional specificities, rural Africa has much in common that shapes the approach to energy
development. Rural Africa is characterised by a heavy dependency on biomass, limited use of 'modern' forms of
energy, and low energy consumption that is decentralised and dispersed. Low income levels, a shortage of
skilled labour, and socio-political and economical instabilities are key constraints to improvement in the short
and medium terms.

As in other developing regions throughout the world, most Africans live in rural areas. They are farmers or
pastoralists, depending on where they live. Production systems are generally extensive and productivity levels
are typically low for most of these subsistence local economies. Under the difficult circumstances of a
shrinking natural resource base, a decline in soil productivity and a commensurate reduction in agricultural
output, villagers across Sub-Saharan Africa have consistently migrated to urban areas. Demographic growth
and climate-related factors will surely cause this trend to intensify.

To meet their domestic energy requirements, rural people use various forms of biomass (fuelwood, agricultural
and animal wastes) almost exclusively. Because of this heavy dependency on biomass, rural people are forced
to over exploit their natural resources together with their agricultural wastes. This has significant implications
for the observed decline in soil fertility levels. Poor rural energy practices, coupled with non-intensive
production systems and inefficient energy habits in large parts of urban and suburban areas, aggravate
environmental degradation through deforestation, soil erosion, etc.

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Modern energy forms, generally kerosene and occasionally electricity, are used mainly for lighting, other uses
being quite marginal. Production activities, notably in agriculture, consume relatively little energy since they
rely primarily on human and/or animal power. Grid extension to rural populations is often compromised, since
the required high investments are unprofitable due to low income levels and population dispersion. Also, it has
been observed that the percentage of connections to the grid often does not exceed 25% of village households.
This set of characteristics of rural Africa requires original and innovative solutions. Asia also has a low income
per capita. These countries do not suffer the same problems, however, since their population densities are
higher and so the marginal cost of installing electricity network is lower. In fact, close scrutiny suggests that in
the developing countries of Asia, per capita incomes grew at an average rate of 4.4 percent between 1970 and
1990 compared with close to zero in Africa (ADB, 1994). Between 1991 and 1995, GDP growth rates in the
dynamic Asian economies averaged over 7 percents (OECD, 1996) and it is clear that the strong economic
growth in Asia accounted to a significant extent for the considerable upward pressure on energy demand.

2. Environmental impacts of current rural energy practices

Because everyone has to supply their own energy, rural energy production and consumption is highly
inefficient. Biomass is gathered directly from sources close to where it is consumed. In most of sub-Saharan
Africa, energy use is linked to deforestation, desertification and to poverty in general, which is perpetuated by
environmental degradation and low energy consumption. This situation is both cause and the consequence of
developmental difficulties. The low purchasing power of rapidly increasing populations makes it impossible for
them to purchase factors of production (such as agricultural inputs, water supply, irrigation system, etc.) that
would enable them to intensify their production to meet their basic needs. Current farming practices including
keeping livestock and biomass collection are the primary causes of major environmental problems of the
region.

In recent decades, African eco-systems have suffered accelerated climatic perturbations. Arid, semi-arid and
dry sub-humid zones have been hit with particular force, provoking or accelerating desertification.
Desertification has increased poverty and created instability in ecological, economic, political and social
systems. Rural populations compelled to move to high density zones are especially affected by these
instabilities. This situation has further reduced the availability of scarce natural resources (biomass, water, soil
fertility, etc. ...) and contributed to the disappearance of certain plant species, in particular those without strong
regenerative capacity.

Biomass for cooking is often used inefficiently and is therefore a significant source of pollution. Smoke from
cookfires, often built indoors, contains dangerous amounts of toxic substances (monoxide of carbon, sulfur and
nitrogen oxides, etc.). Recent research conducted on this worrying phenomenon confirms that there is a cause-
effect link between exposure to smoke and diseases such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The poorest
populations are most exposed to these risks.

3. Social impacts of current rural energy practices and policies

Satisfaction of basic needs (food, health, housing, etc.) requires diverse energy sources. Scarcity and high cost
of energy resources perpetuates and increases poverty in rural Africa. Indeed:

- either the energy source is accessible to everyone (eg, biomass), but then it is gathered close to where it is
consumed, contributing to environmental degradation, resource scarcity, and increased poverty;

-or the energy source (electricity, coal, petroleum product, gas, etc.) is governed
1
by market mechanisms,
making energy services unaffordable to most of the population.


1
Reference here is to market mechanisms for primary energy sources that lead to balance of payment deficits,
which in turn augment the debt burdens of development countries, creating gaping global inequalities. In the
majority of Sahelian countries, the budget share for petroleum imports is more than 70 per cent. In oil
producing countries, inequitable sharing mechanisms often exclude the poor from a share of the earnings. In
this regard, the collusion that exists in certain countries between powerful elites and large energy companies
must be underlined.
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In either case, limited access to energy results in the failure to meet basic needs. Thus poverty is characterised
by low energy consumption, but more importantly, by exclusion of people living in poverty from the current
energy transition and from ineffective energy policies. In effect, the principle aims of energy policies have been
subsidisation of the energy sector as a whole, or subsidisation targeted to specific energy sources, or taxation
of high income consumers.

All global subsidies (eg, for LPG) benefit the wealthy population, which sees an opportunity to increase its
consumption (sometimes leading to shortages), while the poorer population goes back traditional sources of
energy which subsequently become cheaper. All targeted energy subsidies (eg, kerosene) result in suppliers
rationing their stock to sell to a more profitable market (transport in the case of kerosene). Finally, a rise in
taxes on products consumed by the wealthier class (particularly in countries with short supply of wood), often
brings about a rise in overall energy prices. In other words, this type of taxation has a negative effect on the
poor.

Faced with the above dilemmas, human power has often appeared to be a way out. In certain rural areas, wood
is more and more difficult to obtain, so much so that people have to travel longer distance to collect the
woodfuel they need. To the extent physically do-able, a spontaneous effort is even made to compensate for the
lack of energy resources by using physical human energy. There are many cases in the Sahel in recent years
where people had to travel distances over 15 to 20 kms in order to gather the primary resources they need. If
one also considers that the average distance to a health centre (which may be lacking in such basics as
refrigeration ) is 15 km and that there is no organised public transport, it is easy to see that the level of poverty
is maintained by the lack of technology and the frequent absence of any energy sources whatsoever.

Overall, limited access to energy by the poor marginalises them from society and worsens their living
conditions., while deforestation (over 2.5 million hectares/year in Africa) continually degrades their
environment.

4. How should we respond to the energy requirements of the poor?

The failure of energy policies is due mainly to the gap that exists:

- between the needs of populations and the proposed solutions that focus on supply and ignore demand (grid
electricity, new and renewable energies parachuted in from outside, etc.); and

- between energy solutions and the other components of local development (disseminating luxury technologies,
or extending the grid for political reasons instead of responding to basic water needs or conserving agricultural
production, etc.).

Faced with this situation, it is imperative to seek , stimulate and accelerate the transition to viable energy
systems. In the African context, particularly in the agricultural sector, this is essential to ensure food security.
This transition requires political vision and long-term mobilisation; it favours horizontal approaches to strictly
vertical ones, and it includes a strong component of community development.

4.1 Integrated, sustainable, community-based management programmes

Only community-based management programmes that are integrated and sustainable, whether in urban or rural
areas, are capable of satisfying the needs of everyone and, in particular, of the poorest populations. This is
because these programmes take into account the natural and technical resources of the region, human
capabilities, needed financial resources, and the environmental constraints. In the savannah zone, a reflection
on integrated and sustainable management of urban agricultural systems would provide a rich learning field for
this effort. In effect, proposals to produce biomass energy from currently under-valued products (from
agriculture, the savannah and the transformation of certain resources) and reduce reliance on fossil fuels hold
potentially rich prospects for Sahalian countries.

The integrated and sustainable management of new rural agro-forestry systems also offers interesting prospects
in this regard. However, we must base our studies, now even more than in the past, on the maximum possible
use of local natural resources. The energy problems of rural areas that are outside the national commercial
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energy networks (electricity, gas, transport, etc.), and full valorisation of food and non-food oils produced from
trees and annual farm crops, should be approached systematically.

4.2 A mitigated answer offered by renewable energy

A return to renewable energy is often considered the solution to the energy needs of the poor who are
excluded from modern energy systems. Arguments in favour of this position from a macro-economic
perspective hold that renewable energy will reduce long-term dependency on oil and lower national debts,
thereby improving economic conditions and benefiting the poor.

This argument does not take into account the high cost of renewable energy that makes it accessible only to the
rich and excludes the poor in towns and rural areas. To illustrate, the 500 to 1,000 $US cost of solar hot water
heaters and photovoltaic systems makes these technologies inaccessible to poor people. In Senegalese villages
where solar PV systems are available, less than 15 per cent of the population can afford them. Those who
defend energy models "for a sustainable world" that are predominantly based on high-tech solutions and low
energy consumptionand such proposals have almost become commonplacenot only exclude countries that
are at a level of development in which they access only mass produced goods, but also exclude, within those
countries, people without monetary resources. We are faced with global solutions that absolutely do not
respond, at least in the short term, to the needs of poor people. In other words, the logic of renewable energy
solutions that incorporate high-tech equipment for individual users leads to a market logic, of which the
exclusion mechanisms are already known.

4.3 The community approach, taking into account energy needs

The old debate between collective good and individual well-being always reemerges in discussions on
distribution of energy technology. Ultimately, improving the situation of the poor, all studies show, means
increasing their access to water and health care.
2
This implies placing ownership of energy technology in the
hands of collectives, run not by the State, but by decentralised villages, communes, rural communities, etc. An
example is the successful community-based project, Mali Aqua Viva, which doubled the amount of water
available to people during the 1970s drought, and later enabled them to restart or initiate cultivation, provide
water for their cattle in dry season and undertake afforestation activities. The recent experiences in Sahel of
Integrated Infrastructure Platforms for off-grid communities offer interesting prospects for widening access
to rural energy services.

Presented in the context of the collective good, the introduction of energy technologies, including renewable
energy technologies (wind, biogas digesters, solar PV, etc.) constitutes a response to the endemic problem of
poverty. It enables communities to install refrigeration in a health centre here, develop agricultural activities
there, etc.

But this approach requires peoples collaboration and participation. In an example of village photovoltaic
stations
3
(leaving aside discussion on the benefits or disadvantages of such technology), it was observed that
when the population is associated with the management of the station and adequate rates are negotiated with
peoples participation, connections reach 95 per cent where conventional grid connections would have been
only 10 per cent. Enabling access to energy sources and technologies so that poor people are able to meet their
basic needs will require, in the African context, a decentralised but community-based approach in which local
people participate directly in the management of energy resources, that is to say, a new and different approach
to managing energy resources. Such a system would operate outside unaffordable commercial energy supply
and finance systems, allowing the poor to provide themselves with energy.

5. What should be done and how should we proceed?

Energy services have three components:


2
Vivre et mourir en Afrique, Ph. Engelhard, T. Ben Abdallah, and M. Seck, ENDA Syspro, Dakar, 1988.
3
Centrales photovoltaques de Diaoul et de Ndibel: suivi socio-conomique, Rapport final, Masse Lo,
Skou Sarr, ENDA Energie, Dakar, December 1993.
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- energy use which requires knowledge about the quality, function and maintenance of utilisation systems, user
behaviour, etc.;

-energy technologies or appliances required to convert energy into a useful service; and

-energy itself, the type and amount consumed.

Everything to do with the cost and nature of energy services can involve each of these components. A two-fold
on-going procedure is required:

5.1 Start with the needs of the most deprived

This means working with grass roots groups (villages, communes, associations etc.) and supporting them as
they find ad hoc solutions from among the range of possible solutions that present themselves, eg in the
framework of the Rio conventions (eg, desertification
4
), in the context of projects to disseminate energy
equipment, or through integrated resource management programmes (rural or urban).

In this process, one is quickly confronted with the question of compatibility among local resources (human and
natural), technology, product, and market. In seeking this compatibility, what is important is not so much the
analysis of each factor separately, but the way in which they relate to each other. They have to be thought off as
a group, not individually.

There are, in effect, many research centres that work on technology, often in isolation; there are many small
businesses (craft and non-craft based) that make products; there is potential demand, monetary or non-
monetary (as in the case of poor people). The answers thus have to do with the adequacy of the linkages
between these factors:

Local resources<->tecknology<->product<->market

In all regions there is always a stock of local 'savoir faire' and of natural resources (whatever these may be).
However, there is a vacuum, or at least lack of circulation, of information on how to use local resources (except
for wood), eg on how to use the shea tree, biomass residues, etc.

There are solutions, experimental practices, but these rarely reach a level of popularisation because individual
components are not related to each other. For example, production of products requires training of skilled
craftspeople (which is not happening), the product is too expensive to compete on the market, or it does not
meet peoples needs.

Priority should thus be given to research and action that experiments with new materials, adapts technologies,
develops useful products, and demonstrates technical viability and socio-economic feasibility.

5.2. Support capacity building
5


Some people assume that the basic needs of the poorest people will be satisfied when development policies
(economical, technological etc..) are effectively implemented. They look then to public authorities and policy-
makers to take action. But most of the policies that are carried out mimic policies based on consumption
modelsparticularly in the energy sector (gas, electricity, fuel, etc.)that are so costly they make energy
inaccessible to the poor and marginalise them even further. Moreover, such policies tend to ignore the potential
for developing local resources.


4
Vulgarisation de la Convention de lutte contre la Dsertification et Elargissement du Rseau des ONG sur la
Dsertification, ENDA-TM, Dakar, April 1995.
5
From a macro-economic viewpoint, this approach can be linked to approaches in new economic theories of
endogenous growth.



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How can we let decision-makers know that diverse local solutions exist that are based on local resources and
local development needs? Advocacy at the level of decision-makers has less visible effects, in the short term,
than action at the grassroots level, which is by definition carried out with the participation of local populations.

Capacity building is a long process. It is the inverse of missions of experts, or commandos, who in no time at
all produce results that, usually, ignore local potentials because they are elaborated without local savoir-faire.
(Such missions usually prefer ready-made solutions to the analysis of problems.)

6. Conclusion

The complex problem of energy in rural Africa calls for a combination of solutions. In effect, resolving the
woodfuel problem will not meet the growing demand for fuel for motorised agriculture, nor will it provide
energy for small food-based industries; it will not transform and/or conserve local production in agriculture,
livestock or fishing. Singular solutions to diverse problems risk missing their targets, and they multiply costs
by requiring adaptation to each specific problem, as was demonstrated by rural electrification. Moreover, the
present equation of energy and environment issues with global sustainable development brings to reflections on
rural energy a new perception that is above all based on the notion of diversification.

This needed diversification is first of all thematic, refusing models that, mimicking the North, see solutions
as keys, as panacea for Africa: the limited reach of African electricity grids is a blatant manifestation of
this failure, particularly in rural areas. Supply-side thinking has long been dominant, but it is towards analysis
of demand, by nature diversified, that the search for appropriate solutions must be oriented. This leads to
diversity of energy supplies (renewable and non-renewable) and of technologies (traditional, new, hybrid).
Improving traditional technologies is included in the range of measures adapted to the African context. There is
no exclusivity among traditional and modern technologies. It is an appropriate combination of the two, one
labour intensive, the other capital intensive, that leads to effective social solutions.

Geographic diversification then imposes itself. Diversity manifests itself regionally, even locally, in
differences of resources, climate conditions, peoples behaviour, and degree of participation in the global
economy. Various solutions will have priority depending on the context: hydroelectricity, biomass, wind
energy, etc. The continent needs economic and social innovation more than it needs technological innovation:
the technology graveyards in Africa are there to prove it. Failures have resulted from giving priority to
technology (more generally to supply), and overlooking the socio-economic conditions for technology
dissemination. Successes result from taking into account the socio-economic conditions in conjunction with the
diffused technology. Successful development of energy technology requires on-going analysis of the
technology-product-market relationship taking into account place-specific social and environmental constraints.

Financial diversification is finally becoming more effective. The international community seems disposed to
open new lines of finance for projects and investments that promote the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, the enhancement of GHG sinks, and the successful adaptation of local communities to the impacts of
climate change. African countries should position themselves in the front lines to benefit from these new
opportunities, especially for rural areas.

Thus the energy/environment problem helps us to rethink, for rural areas, the problems of development and the
fight against poverty by reaffirming that we do not have to repeat the mistakes of the past, and that diversified
solutions exist if we draw on our imagination and our realism.