Bioenergy remains one of the popular energy resources used in Africa. In Mozambique like in many Sub-Saharan countries, biomass in the form of charcoal, firewood and agricultural residues plays a major role as a primary energy source for households and small businesses, used mostly for cooking and heating. Despite the importance of biomass, there is a lack of recent and comprehensive information regarding the sub-sector.

The African Energy Commission (AFREC) together with the Ministry of Minerals and Energy (MIREME) of Mozambique hosted a validation workshop in with various key stakeholders, officials of MIREME, cooperation partners and the private sector involved in the biomass sector on 24 August 2022, to validate and provide input into the Bioenergy survey report. The survey has been ongoing since April 2022, with technical support from AFREC.

The survey is aimed at assessing household and small businesses bioenergy consumption, updating the baseline of the biomass energy data and providing detailed information on the consumption of biomass in the Southern region of Mozambique. The survey encompasses urban and peri-urban areas in three key regions of Mozambique, namely Maputo City, Maputo Province and Inhambane Province. The provinces were selected based on their concentration of charcoal users, which is a major contribution to deforestation.

Addressing the meeting, Engineer Marcelina Mataveia, Deputy National Director of Renewable Energy at MIRENE said that the survey is an important step for sustainable programming, as biomass remains the major cause of deforestation which promote pollution in households and it is a detrimental effect to the health of users. ‘‘To improve the universal access and provide electricity to our people, we need
to produce input which can improve our planning, bioenergy statistics and strengthen our research and development’’.

‘‘A thorough knowledge of the biomass energy sub-sector is vital, particularly as biomass consumption on a large scale has a significant impact on the preservation of forest resources which are vital for climate change mitigation and adaption. In addition, this survey on bioenergy will enhance AFREC and Mozambique co-operation in the area of energy, particularly in the development and utilisation of sustainable and environmentally sound energy’’, said Rashid Ali Abdallah, AFREC Executive Director.

‘‘Assessing the household and small businesses bioenergy data status, updating the baseline of the biomass energy, providing detailed information on the consumption of biomass in the Southern region of Mozambique is very crucial. Henceforth, this bioenergy survey in Mozambique is cornerstone to the efforts which AFREC is employing to improve reporting, monitoring and suitability of the biomass resource in Africa’’.

The findings from the survey will serve as important input for the biomass energy strategy and to the implementation of concrete measures to improve clean cooking access in urban and rural areas. The results will contribute to improve the energy information system of Mozambique and the African Energy Information System (AEIS) developed by AFREC. Ultimately, it will contribute to better energy planning and improved management of bio energy resources.