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Non-timber forest products farming and empowerment of rural women in Ghana

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Abstract

United Nations estimates indicate that up to 70% of the world’s poor are female, and women in developing countries constitute the majority of the labour force, playing a key role in managing community resources and helping to improve food security and protect the environment. Increased attention in recent years has been focused on the potential role of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in improving the incomes and health of women in developing countries. NTFPs farming and marketing are very critical for the economic empowerment of rural poor, particularly women. Despite this potential, the contribution of NTFPs farming to the empowerment of women remains largely undervalued and understudied. This paper examines the potential contribution of NTFPs farming in poverty reduction and livelihood improvement of women in Ghana using the Sefwi Wiawso District (SWD) and Bibiani-Bekwai District (BBD) in the Western Region of Ghana as a case study. The paper explores the contribution of NTFPs farming to the total annual income, acquisition of assets, health, and food security of women through participatory research methods. ANOVA and Pearson Correlation (p < 0.05) show that a significant association exists between total annual income of women, acquisition of assets, health, food security, and the income earned from NTFPs in the SWD and BBD. The study revealed that NTFPs can contribute significantly to the economic empowerment of women. The paper asserts that commercialisation of NTFPs will have a greater impact on women’s livelihoods and therefore any opportunity for increasing their involvement is very essential for the empowerment and sustainable development of rural communities in Ghana.

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Acknowledgments

Our heartfelt gratitude goes to the Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (VLIR) for supporting the PhD of Mr. Albert Ahenkan at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium. Our sincere thanks to Ms. Amie Fletcher, UK, for the language review of this Article. We also thank Mr. William Gyasi, Ahwia, Mr. S. Okra, Adupri and Ms Marina Kusi of the Business Advisory Centre, Sefwi Wiawso District, and the staff of International Centre for Enterprise and Sustainable Development (ICED) for their assistance during the data collection.

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  1. Human Ecology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium

    Albert Ahenkan & Emmanuel Boon

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  1. Albert Ahenkan
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Correspondence to Albert Ahenkan.

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Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.

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Table 9 Results of Pearson’s correlations
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Ahenkan, A., Boon, E. Non-timber forest products farming and empowerment of rural women in Ghana. Environ Dev Sustain 13, 863–878 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-011-9295-7

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