Cover_Rebuilding West Africas Food Potential

364 Rebuilding West Africa’s food potential

Gender roles are clearly delineated in the oil palm sector. Studies of oil palm farmers in the

Kwaebibirem district conclude that there is an imbalance between the sexes and that stakeholders in

the oil palm industry would do well to encourage women to go into oil palm production in the district.

However, MoFA (2010, p.7.8) indicates that in the large estates up to 60 percent of workers on the

plantations were women.^7

During the FGDs with producer groups (Damang, Kwae, Otumi),it was revealed that activities such as

land preparation, carrying planting materials to field sites and transplanting, manual weeding, spraying

of weedicide, pruning and harvesting are mostly done by men. Activities such as nursery management

and fertilizer application are done by both men and women, while rodent control, aggregating and

carrying of harvested fruits and collection of loose fruits are mostly done by women.

Decisions regarding planting, harvesting, hiring of labor and processing are mostly made by men, with

women being in charge of marketing and receiving money from sales. The lands are owned mostly

by men, and oil palm is commonly produced by individuals. Men usually engage in these production

activities so the women can take care of the home or family. However, women may also be involved

in other field activities to obtain supplementary income for the family.

The palm oil processing industry in Ghana includes large, medium and small scale processors, providing

income for many rural people, especially women engaged in small-scale palm oil processing. Small scale

palm oil processing is dominated by women, working either in groups or as individuals (see Table 9). The

processing method is manual with improved technology processing equipment, locally manufactured.

It is estimated that the bulk of the CPO produced in Ghana is from smallholder holdings. However, the

extraction rates among the smallholders are lower than the extraction rates of large estate processors,

with averages of 11 percent FFB and about 20 percent, respectively.

(^7) The GOPDC estate has about 2 500 workers and women account for about 1 000, making up 40 percent, according
to a manager during the field interview.

Table 9. Number and Gender of Workers Involved in Artisanal Processing

Activities Number of people involved Gender usually involved

Carrying from the truck to the shed 2 Women

De-fruiting 1 Women

Removing fruits 4 Women

Loading into boiler 2 Women

Boiling 1 Women

Carrying boiled palm fruit to machine 6 Women

Pounding and squeezing 4 Men

Carrying to frying pan 1 Women

Frying of oil 1 Women

Total number of people employed 22 Women

Source: Processor interview, Nkwantanang, February 2012