Productivity and safety for women in palm oil processing

Project title:

Productivity and food safety improvements for women in community mechanised palm oil processing: The Case of Ejisu Juaben Municipality, Ashanti Region, Ghana.

“despite having a huge role to play in palm oil production, women have little input in the design of machines for agricultural processing in the developing world.”

Researcher:

Project proposal:

Palm fruit processing into palm oil for consumption, sales and export have become a source of livelihood for women in some communities in Ghana. Recent processing activities have seen an increasing departure from manual production to the use of locally manufactured processing machines to increase productivity. However, there are weak or non-existent standards to regulate the material used in the production of these machines. Therefore, how the machinery parts, which come into contact with the oil, affect quality of outputs and therefore consumer health and food safety have not been given adequate attention. Most of these production processes lack systematic quality control and there are limited or no involvement of bodies or agencies responsible for food standards to monitor and evaluate these. Efficiency and ease of operation of locally manufactured machines are often cumbersome with limited attempts to incorporate ease of operation by the women.

Most of such machines appear to be designed by men and for men, with total disregard for the physiology and psychology of women operators. Despite having a huge role to play in palm oil production, women have little input in the design of these machines. There are limited studies that evaluate and explore technological needs of females involved in agricultural processing in the developing world. The overarching aim of this study is to evaluate the technological needs of women and specifically explore the technological, gender and food safety issues.

To achieve the research aim, the lead investigator will be working with the country director of Self-Help International, Ghana and the Ashanti Regional Engineer for the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to gain access to the research subjects and key stakeholders. The research output is expected to highlight the gender and food safety issues involved in community-based processing of agricultural products. Initial findings will be shared with the stakeholders through workshops and focus groups. There will also be an impact assessment six months after the workshop and focus group discussions. The output will also inform policy makers and will be disseminated in academic conferences and journals (CABS 3* or 4*).

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Themes: