This document summarizes the work of an expert group examining the linkages between energy access and food security at the household level in sub-Saharan Africa. The group aims to bring public attention to the unexplored links between energy access and food security by identifying research gaps. The group's activities include reviewing literature on the impacts of energy access on food security, facilitating knowledge exchange, and suggesting areas for future research. The motivation is that limited research has addressed the connections between energy access and components of food security like storage, processing, and utilization. Preliminary findings show people adjust their livelihoods in response to fuelwood scarcity in ways that can impact food security, though more research is needed to better understand this relationship.

1. siani.se
Linkages and synergies between
energy access and food security
at household level
SIANI Expert Group
Caroline Ochieng, PhD
Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute
SIANI Annual Meeting
January 21, 2015

2. Expert group goal
To bring to public attention
the unexplored links between
energy access and food
security; and to identify
research, policy and
implementation gapsFocus
areas of
the expert
group
Food production
Example: Joint
Food-Energy
production systems
Food Processing
Example: Food
wastes used in
agroprocessing
Food Utiliastion
Example: Energy
efficient wood stoves
that also produce
biochar for boosting
farm productivity

3. Sweden/
Europe
Stockholm Environment Institute
SLU – Crop Production Ecology
SLU Cassava Initiative
Swedish Church
Africa ICRAF, Kenya
Practical Action, Kenya
LUANAR, University of Malawi
Kumasi Institute of Technology & Environment (Ghana)
Global Kande Yumkellah
SE4All
FAO regional office for Africa
Membership

4. Activites
• Consolidate information on synergies and links
between energy access and food security – literature
review
• Bring to public attention the unexplored links between
energy access and food security – workshops,
publications
• Facilitate on the ground knowledge exchange and
capacity building – Exchange visits
• Suggest areas for future interdisciplinary research –
research proposals, expert advice to funding calls

5. Motivation: Energy access in situation in sub-
Saharan Africa
http://www.who.int/indoorair/publications/PowerPoint_Energy_Access_paper-lr.pdf

6. Global/regional
Local harvesting
Household use
SafetyDrudgery
Time use
Health
Personal
security
Deforestation
Reduced education of
children
Time use of
women
Tropospheric ozone
Climate
change
Outdoor particle
pollution
Glacier
melting
Documented
impacts

7. siani.se
Missing link: energy access and food
security
Food security exists “when all people
at all times have access to sufficient,
safe, nutritious food to maintain a
healthy and active life” World Food
Summit, 1996

8. Key components
Storage: Food wastes and
food poisoning
Processing:
Long walks and
long queues
Utilisation: cooking smoke
and ill-health

9. siani.se
Activity 1: Review of impacts of energy access on
household food security and nutrition
Phosiso Sola (CIFOR) Muyuki Iliyama (ICRAF)
Caroline Ochieng (SEI) Jummai Yila (AFF)

10. Hypotheses
• Dietary choices and cooking practices are
influenced by access to energy
• Poor access to cooking fuel leads to reallocation of
household resources, either time or money, to
procurement of fuel rather than food
• Lack of energy impacts of productivity e.g. through
switch to agricultural residues, making them
unavailable for agriculture

11. siani.se
Methodology – systemmatic review
Article search and screening
• Web of Science, Scopus, Google scholar
• Title and abstract screening -170
• Full text 127
Criteria for selection
• Focus on SSA and energy (all forms)
• Link to energy /food security/nutrition and
gender and or Livelihoods
• All articles; whether published as journals or
project reports.

12. Articles selected for review
• Picture?

13. Key findings
• Very few studies addressed both energy access and
food security. Only one food and nutrition study
addressed energy access.
• Results inconclusive due to few studies, and only one
clearly addressed the link between fuel availability and
household food choices.
• But ...several studies show that people adjust livelihoods
to cope with fuelwood scarcity ...in ways that have been
shown to impact on food security

14. Conclusion and
Recommendations
• “Clearly, there is a strong argument in favour of further
research [on food-fuel connection], not to settle an
academic question, but rather to help define directions
for future action both in terms of increasing fuelwood
production and improving nutrition” – FAO, 1990.
• Prevailing uncertainty needs to be urgently addressed; it
leads to assumptions that there is no link between
energy access and food security, and missed opportunity
for addressing the goals jointly.
• Lack of evidence should be interprated as lack of
research; not lack of association

15. Next steps
Literature reviews
• Publication: Links between energy access and food security in sub
Saharan Africa: An exploratory review, led by CIFOR - January 30,
2015
• Publication of policy brief on Opportunities for joint food and energy
production in Malawi – January 30, 2015
• Review on waste recycling to maximize energy and food output, led
by SLU – Ongoing; February 28, 2015
Meetings
• Breakfast dialogues with policy makers/stakeholders (Malawi,
Kenya, Stockholm) – March 30, 2015
• Stakeholder workshop – April 30, 2015
Research proposals
• Ongoing

16. siani.se
Thank You
http://www.siani.se/expert-groups/food-security-and-energy-access