EFFECTS OF GRAMEEN BANK SYSTEM ON SHEANUT PROCESSORS POVERTY REDUCTION IN NORTHERN REGION GHANA

Abstract

About a quarter of Ghanaians are poor. While extreme poverty is largely a rural phenomenon, women are particularly worse off. To reduce poverty, Grameen Ghana has been granting micro-loans to women who are into shea-butter processing. This research work examined effects of Grameen Ghana microfinance on women shea-butter processors in Northern Ghana. It examined responses from160 women using questionnaires based on established livelihood assessment concepts such as the Food Consumption Score, the Nottingham Health Profile and Average Years of Schooling, to compare effects on beneficiaries against non-beneficiaries as a control group. The results indicate that Grameen Ghana’s microfinance support only enables their beneficiaries to cope with poverty but does not sustainably reduce it. Even though initially the FCS showed that Grameen Ghana beneficiaries were generally out of danger of food insecurity and mal nutrition whereas non-clients were not; the NHP showed that beneficiary respondents were subjectively more than twice as healthy as the subjective health status of their non beneficiary counterparts. The women eventually slipback into financial struggles, with the burden of loan. This work also concluded, based on AYS, that the effects of microloans from Grameen Ghana is minimal when exposed to an environment of diverse economic opportunities beyond farming. The Grameen Ghana intervention would have to better organize women beneficiaries to start structured savings and their shea-butter linked to more profitable markets and off-taker buyers. These are necessary so that the savings will enhance financial stability, whiles improved profits will absorb interest burdens of microloans accessed from Grameen Ghana.