ANÁLISIS DEL RESULTADO DEL ESTUDIO DE MERCADO

Ghana is a low-income country. At independence in 1957 Ghana‟s economy was one of the strongest in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there was a sharp economic decline in the following 25 years, particularly in the late 1970s and early 1980s which led to deep problems of inefficiency, high inflation and unemployment, declining output and

41 exports, and deteriorating infrastructure (Rai, 2002; Nti, 1997; Boafo-Arthur, 1999). The economies of many less developed countries including Ghana were crippled by a marked deterioration in terms of trade of primary products, which made prices of primary products drop drastically in spite of rising energy prices (Rai, 2002, Potter, 2000). Given that Ghana is predominantly an agricultural country with cocoa as its major export; the crisis left the nation‟s economy in serious disarray (Europa, 1982; Rimmer, 1992). This was also worsened by a prolonged drought in 1982/3 and the repatriation of about a million Ghanaians from Nigeria. Between 1983 and 1990, the government undertook two major Economic Recovery Programmes (ERP I and ERP II), in conjunction with the World Bank and IMF to stabilise the economy (Rai, 2002; Sowa, 1993: Pearce, 1992). The first programme (ERP I) ran between 1983 and 1986 and was mainly designed to stabilise the economy and reduce inflation. ERP II was initiated in 1987 to continue the economic reforms initiated under the first programme and was more focused on restoring growth. However, these reforms have had a negative effect on areas such as employment, health and education systems and the number of Ghanaians suffering poverty. Organisations, such as Oxfam, argue that the IMF and the World Bank did not consider the negative impact on the welfare of the average Ghanaian, particularly on women and rural communities, hence broadening inequities between and within regions and gender disparities in access to resources, social services and infrastructure amenities (Rai, 2002; Potter, 2000; Awumbila, 2006). Consequently, the government initiated several economic policies such as the Program of Action to Mitigate the Social Cost of Adjustment (PAMSCAD), and the Ghana- Vision 2020 which advocates for a curriculum which is sensitive to gender issues at all levels of the education system. The policy identifies an unbiased education as an important tool for achieving the goals of equality of access to and achievement of educational qualifications for boys and girls. The Ghana Poverty Reduction strategy (GPRS), being the latest initiative, has clear policy statements relating to poverty reduction and gender equality to support economic growth (GOG, 1987; GoG, 2003; GoG, 2005a).

The growth of the Ghanaian economy during the 1990s led to a reduction in national poverty rates from 52 percent to 40 percent (Haddad, 1991; GSS, 2000; Razavi, 2000; GoG, 2003; Canagarajah and Pörtner, 2003; Awumbila, 2006; Palmer, 2005). Though general poverty levels declined, about one-third of the population is poor and unable to

42 access basic social services in terms of health, water and education. „The impact of poverty differs according to geographical location, place of residence, life cycle stage, occupation and gender‟ (Awumbila, 2006:150). Poverty is exceptionally high in the three northern regions with 57.4 per cent of people in the Northern region, 68.3 per cent in the Upper West and 79.6 per cent in the Upper East still living in abject poverty (Adjasi and Osei 2007; Ghana Statistical Service, 2000); GoG, 2003). Poverty is three times higher in rural areas than in urban areas with Accra, the national capital, registering as low as 10% as poor compare to 80% of the rural communities (Canagarajah and Pörtner, 2003; GoG, 2003; Whitehead, 2004; Awumbila, 2006). This makes it difficult for the rural poor to educate their children despite the free basic education policy in Ghana.

The economy continues to be heavily reliant on agriculture which accounts for about 40% of GDP, 70% of employment and more than 55 % of foreign exchange earnings (World Bank, 1985; Dzorgbo, 2001). Traditional exports such as cocoa, gold and other natural resources still account for almost half of GDP. Employment in Ghana is predominantly in the informal sectors, particularly for those without formal education, women and rural dwellers (Duncan, 2004; Heintz, 2005). The informal sector in the Ghanaian economy is made of three basic sectors; agriculture, services and industry. Ghana‟s agricultural sector is said to have a huge potential for improving its productivity and reducing rural poverty, but it has not received the needed attention from government (Heintz, 2005; Duncan, 2004; Appleton, and Collier, 1990; World Bank, 1985). Although past governments have attempted to improve agricultural productivity, these efforts have concentrated on large-scale capital intensive modes of farming over small scale farm units (Duncan, 2004; GoG, 2003; Heintz, 2005; Sarris and Shams, 1991) The growth of the agricultural sector is constrained by obsolete farming practices, gender inequities, poor roads, land tenure problems, lack of markets, lack of finance and other infrastructure (Duncan, 2004). Consequently, ninety percent of farm harvest is head-loaded at the village level mainly by women and children putting considerable risk and burden on them (Duncan, 2004; Manuh, Songsore, & Mackenzie, 1997; Appleton, and Collier, 1990; Benneh, Kasanga and Amoyaw, 1995). The sector is also characterised by post harvest losses and low productivity because many of the

43 women farmers are denied the necessary supports such as access to land and financial resources (Duncan, 2004).

Women are economically very active and engage mainly in agriculture where they usually cultivate crops for subsistence, often on less fertile land while men grow cash crops on more fertile land (Awumbila, 2001; Ghana Statistical Service, 2000, 2005a, b). Customary law which was developed by the colonial governors in consultation with traditional rulers gave land title deeds to men as heads of household and as a means of controlling and subordinating women (Gedzi, 2009; Fenrich and Higgins, 2001). On family farms, while women can influence decisions, the male head of household has final decision-making power and controls the proceeds of the land, including the products of women‟s labour which women traditionally controlled. Writing on gender and poverty, Awumbila (2006) notes that;

In Ghana […] women‟s access to resources has been substantially less than men‟s. Women‟s limited access to productive resources has been suggested as key to understanding women‟s subordinate position in society and to explaining gender inequality in Ghana. […] gender inequalities in access to land as a critical factor predisposing women to poverty. Less than a third (31%) of households headed by women own land compared to 40% of households headed by men, with a greater gender gap in rural communities. Furthermore, studies indicate that women‟s access to productive resources tends to be indirect and contingent on their relationships with men, either by kinship or through marriage (Awumbila, 2006: 153-154).

Northern and southern Ghana constitutes different cultures and climatic conditions. Northern Ghanaian societies are characterised by patrilineal systems with entrenched patriarchal family structures, with women having little or no direct control over resources. However, women in the matrilineal south have greater access to resources and more independence than women in patrilineal systems (Baden et al, 1994). Lack of access to land and land rights have discouraged women, especially those in the north,

44 from undertaking long-term investments (Awumbila, 2001, 2006; Duncan, 1997; Kotey and Tsikata, 1998). The consequence is that agricultural investment is less than 2% of GDP, and less than 2% of arable land is under irrigation (World Bank, 1985). Generally, Ghana‟s economy is not constrained by land availability but by the insecure nature of tenure, and this coupled with poor administration systems have worsened land tenure insecurity with implications for national development (Benneh, 1987; Manuh, Songsore, & Mackenzie, 1997). Like their counterparts in many countries of the world, most rural Ghanaian women combine agricultural activities with petty trading, food processing, marketing food crops and small business enterprises to enable them to meet their daily needs and supplement their earnings from farming (Awumbila 2001; Manuh 1993; Duncan, 1997; Kotey & Tsikata, 1998; Ghana Statistical Service, 2000). In his study of the Ghanaian informal sector, Palmer (2005) notes that;

74% of the farm households in Ghana have at least one member engaging in some form of non-farm work…. Hence, where a household is classified as „a farming household‟, or an individual classified as a „farmer‟, the diversity of the livelihood for the household or the individual is masked (Palmer, 2005: 20).

Despite their important role in sustaining their families and communities, women face severe discrimination in accessing economic resources such as land and finance. Access to financial resources for smaller farmers is more difficult for women than for men who usually control large cash crop farms which can attract more credit facilities (Benneh, Kasanga, & Amoyaw, 1995; Benneh, 1987; Bassett, 1993; Manuh, 1989). Women also face challenges in accessing bank loans due to their low socio-economic status and lack of economic assets as collateral to secure loans. Hence women can usually only access very small loans which do not facilitate the expansion of their businesses. A growing body of literature shows that a country‟s agricultural productivity could increase by up to 20% if women‟s access to resources such as land, seed and fertiliser were equal to that of men‟s (Morton, 2004; DFID, 2007: 13). Women‟s ability to participate successfully in the labour market is constrained by cultural, educational and economic barriers which are often socially imposed (Awumbila & Momsen, 1995; Awumbila, 2001; 2006). Most potential women entrepreneurs are constrained by lack of business

45 information and further hindered by time constraints responsibilities such as child care, cooking, washing, and collecting fuel-wood, water and home maintenance. The multiple natures of their roles, both productive and reproductive, means that women have less time for business training programs and networking activities which can enhance their performance. Moreover, there is also a common cultural belief in Ghana that women‟s enterprises should not be as big or successful as men‟s enterprises (Oppong & Abu, 1987; Clark and Manuh, 1991; Awumbila, 2001; 2006).

The labour market in Ghana is highly sex-segregated in both the informal and formal wage sectors (Awumbila, 1997; Date-Bah, 1986; Coulombe, 2004). The informal makes a significant contribution to real GDP and can provide a means of acquiring useful skills for the youth who do not make it through education. However over the past 50 years, no proper government policy framework has been planned for its development (Gladwin, 1991; Palmer, 2005, 2007). Women make up about 90 per cent the informal sector where the risk of poverty is high. The informal sector is characterized by self- employment, small-scale businesses, and reliance on local resources, family ownership, labour intensity and low income (Ghana Statistical Service, 2000, Awumbila, 2001, 2006; Teal, 2001; Haddad, 1991; Bortei-Doku A. E. 2001; GoG, 2003). Usually, incomes and conditions of work in the informal sector are far less secure and stable, relative to formal sector employment. Employees in the informal sector are usually not protected by labour laws and have no basic rights such as minimum wage or health care (Palmer, 2005, 2007; Mensah-Kutin, 2008).

Formal sector employment constituted between 14-18 percent per cent of total employment in 1984, of which around 60 per cent was in the government sector (GoG, 2003c). Comparatively women are under-represented in formal sector activities, comprising only one quarter of wage employment (Manuh, 1988; Awumbila 2001). Within the public sector, women are highly concentrated in certain professions perceived as feminine, such as teaching and nursing and are usually concentrated in the subordinate positions due to lack of higher education (Manuh, 1988; Awumbila, 2006). There are significant differences between men‟s and women‟s educational attainments. According to the Ghana Living Standards Survey in 2000 (GLSS 4), 44.1% of women

46 as opposed to 21.1% of men have no formal education. Given that formal sector employment now requires secondary or higher levels of education, it follows that only 5.7% of women compared to 15.8% of men can officially work in this sector (UN Millennium Project, 2004). „This has significance for the gendered nature of poverty, as very few women are in formal sector employment‟ (Awumbila 2006:155). Furthermore, promotion in the civil service is dependent upon having higher education, and given that only 20 per cent of graduates are female, women are at a clear disadvantage in terms of achieving managerial positions (Gregory et al, 1992; Manuh, 1988; Awumbila, 2007). Women are also found in low status positions in banking as telephone operators, secretaries and shop assistants. Women are again underrepresented in formal sector business with only 11 per cent of modern sector commerce in 1984 (Manuh, 1989). Consequently, they earn on average lower incomes than men and „the existing gender gap in earnings found in the early 1990s has been increasing considerably as the increase in earnings was much larger for male workers (from 5.8 to 10.5 millions cedis) than for female workers (from 4.9 to 7.1 millions cedis)‟ (Coulombe and Wodon, 2007: 50). Like the informal sector workers, many of the formal sector employees, especially women, have other occupations, usually some form of trading, in addition to their main profession (Palmer, 2005: 21).