Dynamics of Household Heads’ Intentions to Adopt Biogas Technology in Ghana
Martha Osei-Marfo *
Department of Water and Sanitation, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, P.M.B., Ghana and Department of Health Promotion, CAPHRI, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, 6229 HA, The Netherlands.
Nanne de Vries
Department of Health Promotion, CAPHRI, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, 6229 HA, The Netherlands.
Esi Awuah
Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, P.M.B., Ghana.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Evidence abounds that biogas technology has enormous health and environmental benefits, including improvement of community livelihood and health, sanitation, sustainable energy and reduced emissions. In spite of these benefits, intentions to adopt biogas technology are low among household heads in developing countries, notably Ghana. This study aimed to investigate the dynamics of household heads’ intentions to adopt biogas technology, based on the theory of planned behavior. The study adopted an exploratory design and collected data from 394 household heads’ using questionnaires. It was discovered that attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are significant predictors and independently contributed to predicting household heads’ intentions to adopt biogas technology. Additionally, the study found that, the dynamics of ethnicity and education have a significantly direct effect on household heads’ intentions to adopt biogas technology. The study recommends that respected persons in local communities, using different ethnic dialects, lead public education and awareness creation on the benefits of the use of biogas technology. Besides, government should subsidize the cost of biogas plants installation so as to promote its adoption rate.
Keywords: Biogas technology, Ghana, theory of planned behavior, household heads, ethnicity, education.