Forest Products, Livelihoods and Conservation

264 The rattan industry in the Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana

Holbech unpublished; Tabi-Gyansah 2001). The industry relies on the moist

evergreen forests of the Western Region for the production of raw cane (Wong

unpublished). Three main species provide the raw material for the commercial

rattan sector: Eremospatha macrocarpa (mfia), Laccosperma secundiflorum

(ayie) and Calamus deerratus (demmere) (Abbiw 1990; Oteng-Amoako and Obiri-

Darko 2001). The production-to-consumption system for rattan in Ghana is

complex and involves a number of stages from the raw material production to

the sale of finished products. This is particularly the case because of the distance

from the raw material production area (Western Region) to the major area of

final consumption (Ashanti Region) and the socio-economic disparity between

the regions.

METHODOLOGY

The approach

The production-to-consumption system approach concept was the framework

adopted for conducting this study as defined by Belcher (1995) and Oteng-

Amoako and Obiri-Darko (2001) as the entire chain of activities, from production

of raw material through various stages of processing to finished products and

marketing of the products to the consumer. The system includes the mechanisms

involved in the technologies used to process the material as well as the

sociopolitical and economic environments in which these processes operate.

Selection of study sites

Surveys were confined to the Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana (Figure 1).

They were conducted at various locations and concentrated on three main

subsystems, i.e. collection and production, processing and manufacturing and

marketing and trading. The raw material and the processing and marketing

studies were confined to the Western and Ashanti regions respectively.

Data collection

Structured questionnaires were employed in gathering the necessary data on

the rattan production-to-consumption system for both rural and urban surveys.

The survey questionnaires were categorised into harvesting, processing and

marketing of the rattans in selected areas in the Western and Ashanti regions.

During the survey, rattan processing and trading centres in the Ashanti Region

known to team members and those identified from past studies were visited

and the processors and traders were interviewed.

Using the participatory rural appraisal methodology, focus and target group

discussions were held with chiefs, producer groups and traders. In addition,

structured questionnaires were also used to solicit information from individuals

and households. The questionnaires centred on the general overview and

development of the rattan industry with respect to raw material availability,

processing capacities and marketing scenarios both locally and externally.

Other areas include traditional rules, ownership rights, and rules and regulations

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