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Consumption System of Rattan in Ghana

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Consumption System of Rattan in Ghana A study of the Production-to- Consumption System of Rattan in Ghana by A. Oteng-Amoako (Dr.) Project Leader B. Darko Obiri (Mrs): Socio-Economist S. Britwum (Ms): Computer Analyst J. K Afful-Mensah (Mr.): Research Assistant J. Asiedu (Mr.): Research Assistant E. Ebanyenle (Mr.): Project Assistant FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF GHANA and INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR BAMBOO AND RATTAN Executive Summary Rattans are climbing palms native to tropical forest regions of South-east Asia, the Malay Archipelago and Africa. There are over 650 rattan species worldwide (UhI and Dransfield 1987). Rattans have a wide variety of both household and commercial uses. Recently, their importance in environmental management and conservation has also been recognized. Rattans provide raw materials for the cane furniture industry. About 0.7 billion of the world’s population are involved in the trade of raw rattan materials and their finished products (Dransfield and Manokaran, 1994)., Rattan provides a means of livelihood for collectors, processors and traders in the rattan producing countries of Africa. In Ghana, rattan contributes 20% of the total revenue from NTFPs. Through the National Forest Policy the government of Ghana is promoting the development of NTFPs including rattan to curb rural poverty and ensure sustainable forest resources. Despite its environmental and socio-economic importance to the nation, the rattan sector lacks adequate authoritative basic data required to enhance its development. The study was principally designed to provide a thorough understanding of the rattan production-to-consumption system in Ghana. It was also to identify constraints in the sector and recommend possible development interventions that will transcend these constraints and ensure sustainable development of the sector to particularly, improve the livelihood of the rural stakeholders in the country. About 240 rattan collectors, processors and traders of raw materials and finished products from the Ashanti, Eastern, Greater - Accra and Western regions of Ghana were interviewed with structured questionnaires to provide the required data. Discussions on rattan resource availability and potential of the industry and of trade.were held with the Forestry Department, Plant Quarantine officers at the Ghana - Cote D’ Ivoire border and the only two large-scale rattan processors in the country. The study identified three commercial rattan species as Eremospatha spp. (Mfea), Laccosperma spp. (Eyie) and Calamus spp. (Demere) from off reserve natural forests of Ashanti, Eastem and more importantly Western regions of Ghana. Rattan is usually harvested when it is 8 to 10 years old using cutlasses and machetes. The demand for Eremospatha spp. is very high and is fast depleting the natural resources and as a consequence collectors may walk more than 10 kilometers from their villages to harvest them. Rattan stems are sold by collectors, ungraded and chemically untreated in bundles of 30 to 100, to processors and traders in urban centers. some of who 2 come from neighbouring countries of Togo and Cote D’ Ivoire. The profit margin of 10 to 30 percent of the selling price depends on the cost of transportation which may be as high as 50 percent of the selling price. Rattan stems are processed manually into furniture, baskets, serving trays, babies-cots and other products by small-scale family-based entrepreneurs in urban centers who operate with very limited capital, usually not exceeding three hundred thousand cedis (about 100 US dollars). Rural processing largely involves the production of local farm baskets for transporting goods and for storage of food items. The sale of ungraded rattan products is done by either the processors themselves or by retailers who buy from the processors. Most of the products are sold locally with only two relatively large-scale companies export significant quantities to Europe. The profit margin for a finished product sold in the local market is about 20 to 50 percent and depends on the type of product, the location of the market and the season of sale. The profit margin for exported rattan products may be considerably higher, at about 50 to 100 percent of the selling price in Europe. Although the rattan industry sector of Ghana is not well developed when compared to those of Asia countries, the future of the industry seems bright because of increasing demand for rattan products. However, the industry is being seriously threatened by a shortage of of raw rattan, especially Eremospatha, which is rapidly being depleted. Consequently, there is an urgent need to increase rattan stock in the country by way of establishment of plantation, enrichment planting and agro-forestry. Other interventions needed to sustain the sector and improve upon the livelihood of especially rural stakeholders include improved harvesting techniques to promote natural regeneration: effective preservation methods to arrest fungal deterioration and insect infestationa dn the introduction of processing machines and better equipment to enhance productivity and quality of the finished products. Of equal importance is the need for a standard grading system for the sale of rattan stems and products, legislation to review the current permit system to discourage evasion of tax by collectors and processors, and a policy to intensify market promotion and give stakeholders financial backing. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 Table of Contents 4 List of tables 6 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 7 2.0 OBJECTIVES 8 3.0 METHODOLOGY 9 3.1 Definition of the Production - to - Consumption System (PCS). 9 3.2 Conceptual/Analytical Framework 9 3.3 Study Area/Sites 10 3.4 Data Collection 10 3.5 Data Analysis 11 Map of Ghana showing the main rattan harvesting area 12 4.0 BACKGROUND TO GHANA 14 4.1 Location and Extent 14 4.2 Demography 14 4.3 Topography 14 4.4 Land Use 14 4.5 Farming Systems 15 4.6 The Economy 15 5.0 THE RATTAN PRODUCTION -TO-CONSUMPTION SYSTEM (P-C-S) 16 5.1 Overview of the P-C-S 16 5.2 Rattan Collection System 16 5.2.1 Socio-demographic Profile of Collectors 16 5.2.2 Description of the rattan collection system 19 5.3 Local use, Processing and Manufacturing 26 5.3.1 Local uses of rattan 26 5.3.2 Processing and manufacturing 27 5.3.2.1 Socio-demographic profile of Processors 27 5.3.2.2 Processing technology, Practices/Methods 30 change no in text 5.4 Rattan Trading /Marketing 37 5.4.1 Socio-demographic profile of traders 37 5.4.2 Processed rattan trade 41 5.4.3 Variation in Price of Raw Rattan on Selected Markets 42 5.4.4 Value Addition and Profit Margins 43 5.5 Problems/Constraints in the Rattan P-C-S 48 5.5.1 Constraints in Rattan Collection 48 5.5.2 Constraints in Rattan Processing 49 5.5.3 Constraints in Rattan Trading/Marketing 51 4 6.0 DEVELOPMENT OF THE RATTAN INDUSTRY 53 6.1 Enhancing the Rattan Industry: Suggestions from primary stakeholders 53 6.2 Policy, Institutional and Administrative Framework for the Rattan Sector 56 6.2.1 Policy 57 6.2.2 Institutional and Administrative Framework 58 7.0 OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS IN THE RATTAN PCS AND IN THE WIDER CONTEXT 7.1 Opportunities in the Rattan PCS and in the wider context 61 7.2 Constraints in the Rattan PCS and in the wider context 62 8.0 DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS - THE WAY FORWARD 62 Intervention 1 64 Intervention 2 64 Intervention 3 65 Intervention 4 65 Intervention 5 66 ANALYSIS OF CONSTRAINTS, CAUSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND INTERVENTIONS FOR THE RATTAN SECTOR IN GHANA 67 BIBLIOGRAPHY 71 Appendices 73 Appendix 1 73 Appendix 2 79 Appendix 3 89 NOTE a: 1 US Dollar = C 3,000 at the time of Data Collection. All prices/ costs in this report are in Cedis (C). NOTE b: This report has been edited at INBAR and may differ slightly from the form in which it was presented to INBAR by the authors. 5 List of tables Page Table 1 Survey locations 13 Table 2 Land use in Ghana 14 Table 3 Major occupation of rattan collectors 18 Table 4 Minor occupation of rattan collectors 19 Table 5 Rattan collection sites 20 Table 6 Rattan collection periods 21 Table 7 Rattan species collected and uses 23 Table 8 Nodal preference within species - collectors 24 Table 9 Diameter preference within species - collectors 25 Table 10 Factors affecting quantity of rattan harvested 26 Table 11 Local uses of rattan 27 Table 12 Educational status of processors 28 Table 13 Major occupation of rattan processors 29 Table 14 Minor occupation of rattan processors 29 Table 15 Tools and equipment used in processing 31 Table 16 Nodal preference within species - processors 32 Table 17 Diameter preference within species - processors 33 Table 18 Chemicals used in rattan processing 33 Table 19 Type of labour used by small-scale processors 34 Table 20 Wage rate for making major urban products by small-scale entrepreneurs 35 Table 21 Sources of finance for rattan processing 35 Table 22 Products manufactured by rural and urban processors 36 Table 23 Major occupation of rattan traders 39 Table 24 Minor occupation of rattan traders 39 Table 25 Raw rattan trade 40 Table 26 Varition in price of raw rattan on selected markets 42 Table 27 Value addition and price variation of processed rattan products in Accra and Kumasi 44 Table 28 Comparison of profit margins of selected rattan products in Kumasi and Accra 45 Table 29 Effect of Differences in value addition on profit margin in the Kumasi area 46 Table 30 Effect of differences in value addition on profit margin in the Accra area 47 Table 31 Problems/constraints in rattan collection 48 Table 32 Problems/constraints in rattan processing 50 Table 33 Problems/constraints in rattan trading/marketing 51 Table 34 Enhancing the rattan indistry in Ghana: Suggestions from primary stakeholders 55 6 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Rattans are climbing palms that provide raw materials for the cane furniture industry.
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