The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) hosted a clean cooking symposium last week in Nairobi, Kenya, highlighting the environmental and health benefits of cooking with biofuels compared to traditional fuel sources.
The event, which drew over 30 attendees from across East Africa, focused on innovations in ethanol distribution, advancements in cookstove technology, and strategies for consumer adoption.
Ramy H. Taieb, USGC regional director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, emphasized the potential for clean cooking to create additional demand for U.S. ethanol while improving air quality in homes.
"Ethanol cookstoves are providing a cleaner, safer and more efficient alternative that has the potential to revolutionize household energy use in Africa," Taieb said.
The symposium featured discussions on Kenya's clean cooking adoption roadmap and a panel on trade regulations with government officials from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Afternoon sessions explored clean cooking usage in urban and rural environments, financial aspects of implementation, and country-specific policy developments.
Taieb noted that as suburban populations grow, demand for ethanol in clean cooking is expected to rise. With domestic biofuel supplies in Africa remaining low, this presents export opportunities for the U.S. ethanol industry.
The USGC plans to engage with Sub-Saharan African logistics companies, energy and environmental stakeholders, and consumers to position U.S. producers as the preferred biofuel providers for clean cooking in the region.
