Tanzania’s Rural Energy Agency (REA) announced on Monday that it has embarked on a program aimed at reducing dependence on charcoal and fuel wood for cooking.
Hassan Saidy, REA director general, said the 10-billion-Tanzanian-shilling (about 4 million U.S. dollars) program entails the distribution of between 200,000 and 500,000 subsidized liquefied petroleum gas cylinders and stoves in rural areas in the 2023/2024 financial year.
“The objective of this program is to encourage citizens to use clean, safe, and natural energy for cooking in their areas and subsequently saving our forests from degradation through charcoal making,” Saidy told a news conference in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania.
He said the program to distribute subsidized gas cylinders and stoves has started to be undertaken in Lindi and Coast regions under the guidance of the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation.
Saidy said the REA is also planning a project aimed at installing clean energy cooking systems in institutions that serve more than 300 people, adding that 100 institutions will benefit from this project.
