Gender, Small Scale Industrial Development and Poverty Reduction in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District (AEED) in the Central Region of Ghana

There is the recognition that the development of small scale industries (SSIs) has the potential to contribute significantly towards poverty reduction in a country. The concentration of SSIs in labour-intensive enterprises which is relatively a major feature of rural industries points to their important role of employing the ever growing labour force, especially women, in developing nations. Available evidence indicates that small-scale firms are a significant, if not a dominant, component of the industrial sectors of most African countries. The overwhelming majority of industrial establishments are small but they account for the bulk of industrial employment. This paper explores the role of small scale industries in the reduction of poverty among rural households in Central Ghana, specifically in Ajumako Enyan Essiam District (AEED). The study was carried out comparing the contributions of the SSI and non-SSI households to poverty reduction in the AEED. The simple random sampling method was employed to select fifty (50) SSI households who were organized into associations; and purposive sampling was used to select ten (10) household of the SSI households that were not organized into associations in order to get the required sample size of sixty (60) for SSI households. The multi-stage sampling technique was also employed, using the cluster, simple random and systematic techniques to get sixty (60) non-SSI households to compare with the SSI households. A detailed interview schedule was used to collect data from respondents of the households. The focus group discussion guide was used to solicit information from selected chairpersons of the associations of the SSIs. The data was edited and coded and presented and analysed using the Statistical Product for Social Sciences (SPSS). The data indicates that the SSI respondents have more females (68.3%) than males (31.7%) in the SSI sector in the district. The female dominance portrays the fact that developing the SSI sector is enhancing the livelihood capabilities of females, who can contribute significantly to poverty reduction. The study presents the comparative analysis of the contributions of the SSI and non-SSI households towards the reduction of household poverty in the AEED. The comparative analysis of the contributions was based on the ability of the SSI and non-SSI households to acquire property and to provide their members in the households with basic necessities, such as education, accommodation, healthcare, nutrition, potable water, clothing and the ability to save. Based on the analysis, conclusions were drawn as to the effects of SSI development on household poverty in the AEED. A brief summary of the chi-square results at 5% level indicate that property acquisition (12.48), provision of education (8.342), provision of accommodation (8.571), provision of potable water (5.910) and the ability to save (18.64) were statistically significant as against the provision of healthcare (2.435), household nutrition (1.990) and clothing (4.242) which were not statistically significant. As a result, the conclusion was drawn that the development of SSIs has significant effect on the reduction of household poverty in the District. In addition, the female dominance in the SSI sector in the AEED indicates that developing such sectors could target women to a large extent in poverty reduction in the households. Keywords: Gender, small-scale industry, poverty reduction, Ghan