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Title: | Case Studies on the Ghana Multifunctional Platform |
Authors: | Inkoom, Daniel K. B. |
Issue Date: | 2009 |
Publisher: | United Nations Development Programme |
Abstract: | The Kumasi Institute of Technology,
Energy and Environment (KITE) is a
Not-for-Profit Organisation registered
under the Companies Code of Ghana
(1963, Act 179) as a company limited
by guarantee. KITE through the UNDP
Regional Energy and Poverty Program
(REP), Dakar received funding from
the Japanese government Human
Security Trust Fund (HSTF) to
implement the pilot phase of Ghana
Multifunctional Platform Program
(MFP) in 2005.
The Multifunctional Platform (MFP)
program is a response toward
alleviating rural poverty by reducing
the tedious chores of the rural
populace through the provision of
social services and generation of
economic activity in rural
communities. An MFP consists of an
energy source, provided by an engine
mounted on a chassis, which powers a
variety of end-use equipment such as
grinding mills, de-huskers and battery
chargers. The MFP can also be
configured to generate electricity for
lighting, refrigeration, and water
pumping. Between April 2005 and
March 2008, KITE reports indicate
that the Ghana Program has deployed
40 MFPs in 40 communities in the
Northern and Brong Ahafo regions.
This report documents the experience
of the Abease MFP and the operations
of a Gari Producing Women’s Group
and adds on to the experiences that
KITE and her collaborators have
acquired in the establishment and
operation of MFPs in Ghana. It is
expected that the experiences will
inform future operations of the MFP
and guide decisions to upscale the
establishment of MFPs in Ghana and
elsewhere.
The Abease experience confirms how
important it is to strengthen and use
CBOs in rural interventions to improve
the livelihood of rural people.
Collaboration with CBO’s, local
institutions and stakeholders are very vital to the success of the MFPs in
Ghana. The experience also highlights
the role effective local leadership can
play in assisting rural women to fight
poverty and ensure improved
livelihoods.
In terms of achievements of the
Platform, the results indicate that the
Platform has brought several
economic and social benefits to the
community, including savings in time
and energy required for food
processing and food preparation,
social cohesion in the community,
and some educational benefits
including allowing children to spent
time in school for teaching and
learning. The platform has also
introduced business management
skills into the community and has put
the community on the map of the
district, after the Women’s Group was
recognised at the 2007 Regional
Farmers’ Day.
Despite these achievements however,
there still remains issues that are
critical to the sustainability of the
platform and upscaling to other
communities.
These include the need to carry out
more detailed site analysis to ensure
compatibility of land uses before
Platform establishment, the need to
improve collaboration with
stakeholders especially with the
District Assemblies that are legally
responsible for the improvement of
rural livelihoods, and the need to
explore markets for the IGAs that
result from the setting up of the
Platforms.
Finally, there is the need to
constantly monitor the major cost
components of the platform, namely
fuel, spare parts, operator wages and
allowances and overhead costs which
have the potential to affect the
profitability of the platforms. |
Description: | Article published by United Nations Development Programme
ASRO-1 Point E Boulevard de l’Est Dakar, Senegal. |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/3422 |
Appears in Collections: | College of Architecture and Planning
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