69
3 Material support
43 17
11 29
5 22
4 Reduce prices
3 9
- 2
21 7
5 Alternative livelihoods
17 -
- 1
- 2
6 Ease access permit
- 4
- 1
6 2
7 Police and FSD
- 4
4 3
1 2
8 Stable fuel and vehicle parts
price -
4 -
1 4
2 9
Available and
affordable spare parts
3 -
- -
4 1
10 Improve price and payment -
- -
1 -
1 11 Form Association
3 -
- 1
- 1
12 Woodlots -
- 4
1 -
1 13
Any support to enhance business
- -
- 1
- 0.3
14 Improve demand -
- 4
- -
0.3 15 Dredge volta river
3 -
- -
- 0.3
16 Increase transport fare -
- -
- 1
0.3
4.4 Fuelwood trading system
4.4.1 Socio-demographic profile of fuelwood traders
Age, gender, educational status and resident status of fuelwood traders
Both men and women of middle age average 49 years across regions trade in fuelwood for fish smoking in coastal Ghana. However, the trade is dominated by women comprising 92
of the total sample of fuelwood traders interviewed across regions and approximately 100 in Greater Accra and Central Regions Table 26 and Figure 47.
Table 26 Age of fuelwood traders
Region Mean Age Years Std. Deviation
Volta 51
16.3 Greater Accra 53
15.6 Central
50 14.4
Western 45
14.0 All regions
49 15.1
70
12 4
3 13
8
88 96
97 87
92
20 40
60 80
100 120
Volta Greater Accra
Central Western
All regions
Traders
R e
g ion
Gender of Fuelwood Traders
Female Male
Figure 51 Gender of fuelwood traders for the coastal fish smoking industry
20 40
60 80
Male Female
Male Female
Male Female
Male Female
Male Female
Vo lta
Gr ea
te r
Ac cr
a Ce
nt ra
l W
es te
rn Al
l r eg
io ns
Fuelwood traders
Re gion
Ge nde
r
Educational status among male and female fuelwood traders
Tertiary SecondarySSS
MiddleJSS Primary
None
Figure 52 Formal educational status of male and female fuelwood traders
Forty to sixty percent of the female fuelwood traders have had no formal education particularly in the Central Region Figure 48. The majority 50 of the educated traders
have had basic education i.e. primary-middlejunior secondary. Majority 77 and 97 of the fuelwood traders are respectively native and permanently resident in their communities
across regions surveyed Figure 49. Over 80 have been living in these communities for more than 10years i.e. 11-92 years Figure 50 and an average of 36 years Table 27.
71
Table 27 Mean number of years lived in community-all regions combined
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
388 0.5 92
36 21.35
56 71
77 54
64
29 26
14 43
31 15
3 9
3 5
10 20
30 40
50 60
70 80
90
Volta Greater
Accra Central
Western All regions
F ue
lw oo
d tr
ade rs
Region Residential status of fuelwood traders
Native Settler
Migrant
Figure 53 Residential status of fuelwood traders
5 10
15 20
25 30
Volta Greater Accra
Central Western
All regions
Fuelwood traders
R e
gi on
No. of years traders have lived in community
80 71-80
61-70 51-60
41-50 31-40
21-30 11--20
0-10
Figure 54 Number of years traders have lived in their community
72
Household characteristics of fuelwood traders
Majority of fuelwood traders are married ranging from 57 in Central to 64 in the Western Region. On average across regions, 39 of the traders are single parents Figure 53.
Fuelwood traders are also responsible for large households. Household sizes for at least 97 of the traders range from 1-20 people with a few of them having 20-55 people Figure 54.
The average across the regions is 8 people per household Table 28.
61 58
57 64
61
27 26
18 17
21
10 20
30 40
50 60
70 Volta
Greater Accra Central
Western All Regions
Fuelwood traders R
e gi
on Marital status of fuelwood traders
Widow Divorced
Married Single-never married
Figure 55 Marital status of fuelwood traders Table 28 Mean household size for fuelwood traders-all regions combined
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
414 1
55 8
5.3
73
20 40
60 80
100 Volta
Greater Accra Central
Western All regions
Fuelwood traders
R e
gi on
Size of fuelwood traders households
20 11--20
1--10
Figure 56: Household size distribution for fuelwood traders
Dependency on fuelwood trading for livelihood
34 44
46 42
43
66 55
54 58
57
10 20
30 40
50 60
70 Volta
Greater Accra Central
Western All regions
Fuelwood traders R
e g
ion Is fuelwood trading main economic activity?
Yes No
Figure 57 Reliance on fuelwood trading as main economic activityincome source
74
20 40
60 80
Volta Greater Accra
Central Western
All regions
Fuelwood traders R
e g
ion Other economic activities undertaken by fuelwood traders
Revenue collector Artisan
Food processing Fishing
Farming Petty trading
Figure 58 Other economic activities undertaken by fuelwood traders for income
4.4.2 The fuelwood trading enterprise