Forest Products, Livelihoods and Conservation

Chapter 15

The rattan industry in the Ashanti

and Western regions of Ghana

Charles Adu-Anning^1

ABSTRACT

This chapter presents the findings of a socio-economic analysis of the rattan

industry in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The study was carried out with

particular emphasis on urban and peri-urban areas identified in previous

research (Darko 1981; Falconer 1994; Oteng-Amoako and Obiri-Darko 2001)

and was extended to the Western Region to analyse the raw rattan production

system in view of the fact that almost all rattans being commercially utilised

are from this region. The scope of the research covers the raw material

production, processing and marketing subsectors of the rattan industry in

Ghana. It was found that males dominate the ranks of producers and the

majority of these have some level of formal education. The average income

from rattan production is US$150 to US$200 per annum. Self-financing is the

major source of capital funding for rattan producers. Suggestions and

recommendations to promote the industry include the sustainable harvesting

of wild sources of rattan, the establishment of plantations, increased

availability of affordable sources of capital and the standardisation of quality

grading rules.

INTRODUCTION

The rattan industry in Ghana is made up of a group of small scale

entrepreneurs engaged in various activities from the production of raw rattan

from either natural forest or fallow lands to manual processing of the rattan

using simple tools into various products. The rattan industry is a major source

of income for both rural and urban livelihoods (Falconer 1994; Townson 1995;

Common names Part of the Management Degree of Scale of Geographic

resource used transformation trade range

Rattan, Stem Wild Medium International Large

Mfia, Ayie

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