Carbonized briquettes as a climate smart energy and business option for the beef value chain actors in the cattle corridor of Uganda

Deforestation and charcoal burning have devastated forests in Uganda with current rates estimated at 80,000ha annually. One of the options for addressing this is out-scaling the use of carbonized briquettes. This option is attractive because it utilizes agricultural waste. Women and girls spend hours gathering firewood for cooking and others use wood charcoal whose production is depleting forests. Beef production is one of those enterprises that generate large quantities of cow dung that can be used in combination with other organic waste materials in the production of briquettes. The briquettes provide a climate-smart option for cooking energy and an income source for women and youths. Briquette business is also a potential source of income for beef-producing households during periods when there are no cattle sales. Women and youths in three cattle corridor districts; Masindi, Mbarara and Isingiro, were trained in the production of carbonized briquettes which were tested to assess the time they took to ignite and the time they took to burn to ashes. These parameters were compared to those of wood charcoal. The carbonized briquettes had a shorter ignition time than the wood charcoal by 35% (p<0.05) and burnt 6 times longer (p<0,05) than the wood charcoal before turning to ash. As such, replacement of wood charcoal with carbonized briquettes provides potential for reduction of greenhouse gasses from animal waste and depletion of forest cover with net positive environmental effects on the rangeland ecosystem and beef production. Production of briquettes should therefore be mainstreamed in future interventions. Keywords: Carbonized briquettes, cooking energy, Uganda, wood charcoal