he adoption and continued use of improved biomass stoves in developing countries is of social, economic
and environmental concern. Many of rural households use traditional stoves which have low energy
efficiency leading to using more wood fuel, increase in indoor air pollution and also putting a lot of
pressure on biomass resources. There have been efforts to promote use of efficient wood fuel technologies; this
program has been spearheaded by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Nongovernmental Organizations. The
purpose of the study was to evaluate the determinants of adoption of improved biomass stoves among rural
household in Rwamagana District. To achieve this, the study was guided by the following objectives; to assess the
social factors determining the adoption of the improved biomass stoves, assess the level at which the economic
status of the household influences the adoption of the improved biomass stoves, examine how cultural beliefs and
practices influence the adoption of improved biomass stoves and investigate the level at which sensitization of the
rural households influence the adoption of improved biomass stoves in Rwamagana District. The study adopted a
descriptive research design. The target population comprised 350 households from Rwamagana District. The
sample size of 187 households from Rwamagana was determined using Slovin’s formula. Purposive sampling
technique was employed to select Rwamagana District as the study site since the improved biomass stoves
programme was present in the area. To determine the sample size to consider in each Cell, stratified random
sampling technique was used whereby a random sample from each stratum (Cell) was taken in a number
proportional to the stratum size when compared to the target population. The study utilized questionnaires as an
instrument for data collection. Data collected was analyzed through SPSS version 23. Data analysis involved
statistical computations for averages, percentages, and correlation and regression analysis. Findings of the study
were presented using frequency distribution tables. From the correlation analysis, it was found that social status,
economic level, cultural beliefs and sensitization of households had a significant positive influence on the adoption
of improved biomass stoves in Rwamagana District with (0.902, 0.989, 0.852, and 0.941) respectively. From the
study, it is concluded that there is a positive relationship between social status, economic level, cultural beliefs,
sensitization of households and adoption of improved biomass stove. The four determinants had a significant
positive influence on the adoption of improved biomass stoves in Rwamagana District with all the determinants
contributing 98% to adoption. Using linear regression analysis, the significance values for relationship of Social
status, Economic status, Cultural beliefs and Sensitization of rural households on adoption were 0.056, 0.000, 0.717
and 0.015 respectively. Through the study findings, it is recommended that more strength should be put on
Economic status and sensitization of rural households to have a successful adoption and use of improved biomass
stove because these are the factors that highly contributed in Rwamagana.