RURAL DYNAMICS
DIAGNOSTIC: FARMERS
SUPPLYING OIL PALM TO
BOPP MILL
Adum Banso Ghana
Context
2
VILLAGES COVERED BY THE RURALITY
PROJECT
In February 2015, Nestlé was
the first TFT member to engage
in the Rurality journey to
transform its supply chain at
the farmer level..
LEGEND
BOPP Mill
BOPP Plantation
Neung forest
reserve
g h ana
NEUNG FOREST RESERVE
Road
River
Villages Rurality
work with
GO SLOW
DO
SUBRISO VILLAGE
NINGO VILLAGE
BENSO
Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP)
was established by the Government
of Ghana in 1978 and is now currently a
subsidiary of Wilmar international which
­
is involved Nestlé’s supply chain. BOPP is
supplied by farmers for 35%. The company produces FFB on estate plantation and
process crude palm oil. BOPP operates
from Adum Banso, 32 km from Takoradi.
Rurality works with outgrowers who
are farmers who established oil palm
plantations on private land outside
­
BOPP’s concession .
Outgrowers
and
different
from
smallholder who are part of BOPP
­
smallholders’ scheme and doesn’t have
­
the decision-making power on the oil palm
plot inside BOPP’s concession area.
NEUNG FOREST RESERVE
GO SLOW
ADUM BANSO
DOMINASE VILLAGE
TREBUOM VILLAGE
MPOHOR
TRE
BOPP supply chain
3
Rurality works
with outgrowers who
have established oil palm
plantations on private
land outside BOPP’s
concession
Outgrowers
OUTside BOPP’s
concession area
35%
A smallholder
is part of BOPP
smallholders’ scheme
and doesn’t have the
decision-making power
on the oil palm plot inside
BOPP’s concession
area
inside BOPP’s
concession area
BOPP
Adum Banso
Mill
23%
Smallholders
42%
estate
plantation
RURAL DYNAMICS
DIAGNOSTIC (RDD)
METHODOLOGY
Rural Dynamics Diagnostic
(RDD)
The RDD was conducted from November
2015 to April 2016 by Grace Obeng and
Charles Boateng, Rurality field officers.
They stayed in villages and shared farmers’ life. They met with each farmer more
than 3 times to conduct interviews, at
which time they visited the farms and
learned about farmers’ lives.
4
155
214
64
64
10
farmers
interviewed
oil palm plots visited
(785 acres)
oil palm plots GPS
tracked
Individual Interview with a farmer.
maps done through
ARCGIS software and
distributed to farmers
group meetings
GETTING TO KNOW
THE FARMERS
Individual Interview with a farmer.
5
How they became farmers
Farmers and their families
-- 78% are native to the area
-- Acquired knowledge and experience
from parents
--Access to family lands
--Half of the farmers are older than50
--5 children on average in each
household
--Household = mononuclear family
Vision of the farmer
Living conditions
-- Agriculture can be a profitable activity
-- Proud to be farmers
-- Would like to continue oil palm
production
-- Think oil palm is not supported
enough by the government
-- Good relationship with BOPP
-- Would like their children to benefit
from good education and be able to
--Would like their children to attain
a good education and have career
choices.
-- Live in block or clay houses
--10% don’t have access to drinking
water
--All have access to electricity
--Between 15 to 30 min away from a
health centre
6
Ebby
Samuel
Meeting with Ebby Samuel
He is 44 years old and lives in Dominase.
He considers that oil palm production is the
activity that bring the most income to his
household. He has 3 acres of oil palm, 4.5
acres of cocoa and 1 acre of food crop. He
has two children who go to school.
Lois
Manso
Meeting with Lois Manso
Lois is 44 years old and lives in Adum Banso.
She has 3 children and 2 of them are in school while
one is working. She has 1.6 acres of oil palm, 0.25
acres of food crops and 9 goats. Farming is not her
main activity: she is a baker and her husband works
as a security officer. She is part of the farmers’ association of Adum Banso and is also part of the BOPP
smallholders scheme.
LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES
7
Farming systems
Household economics
Land use
20% of land =
food crops
(Cassava, Plantain,
Vegetables)
80% of land =
cash crops
(Oil palm, Cocoa,
Rubber)
Oil palm production
-- Average 10 oil palm plot/farmer
and 2ha/farmer
-- Farmers walk on average 1.8 km
to reach their plots
41% of plots
are enriched
with inorganic
fertilizer
62% of plots
are treated with
herbicide for
weeding
Food crops production
--Intercropping when oil palm is young
(cassava, plantain, vegetables)
-- Mostly for household consumption;
extra is sold in local markets
50% of
farmers grow
food crops
Livestock system
-- Extensive systems
-- Mainly for house consumption
63% of
farmers have
cattle (Goats,
sheep and
fowls)
Labour
-- 50% of farmers also rely on nonfarming activities: BOPP workers,
shops, construction, middlemen,
mining, etc.
--Farmers easily cover their daily
expenses, but struggle with school
fees and agricultural inputs
50% of
farmers
consider oil
palm as their
main source
of income
30% of
farmers cite
consider
cocoa as their
main source
of income
20% of
farmers cite
consider
non-farming
activity as
their main
source of
income
--85% of farmers work on their own
farms
--50% of farmer have family members
working on farm
--87% hire labour for harvesting and
weeding
--No written contracts with workers
--Workers are paid directly in cash
TOOLS, EQUIPMENT AND PERSONAL
PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
-- Farmers own small tools: chisel, pan,
cutlass
--Some farmers have to borrow
equipment such as sprayers
--Two thirds of farmers don’t use PPE
--Commonly used PPE are Boots
Stakeholders involved
GSSOP
Scheme (start
in 2011)
Works
with farmers’
association =
RSPO
certification
8
Organise
meetings with
farmers through
Outside Purchase
Team (OPF)
Handle
development,
maintenance
and harvest in oil
palm plots
GSSOP:
Mining
Company
Connect farmers
to NGOs like
Solidaridad
BOPP
Connect
farmers to banks
like ARB
Solidaridad:
NGO
Provide
loans + sell
tools to some
farmers
Farmers
SELL FFB
Private
business
Provide
technical
training on Best
Management
Practices
(BMP)
Work with
Solidaridad
Provides few
incentives for oil
palm (last
time was in
2004 with free
seedlings)
Government
Buy FFB from
farmers sell to
BOPP or
ABEPAPA
Middlemen
Ahantaman
Rural Bank
(ARB)
Support
cocoa
production:
subsidised
agricultural
inputs
Provide
loans for
fertilizer and
chemicals
Farmers’
Associations
60% of farmers are members of
an association which sometimes
provides loans
+ lends tools
ABEPAPA
buying
company
Buys FFB
from farmers,
middlemen
and farmers
association
Located
in BOPP
mill
Opportunities
for change
Financial Management
Supply of agricultural
inputs and tools
Connections between
farmers
-- Connect farmers and suppliers
who can make good quality
tools, equipment and PPE
available to farmers
-- Define framework between
farmers and BOPP to allow
farmers who buy quality seed
from BOPP to obtain the right
quantity at the right time
-- Build capacity of farmers’
associations so they can support
and provide services to farmers
Develop communications tools
and organise field visits so
farmers are connected to each
other and exchange ideas about
tools, methods and innovations
Labour forces
HEALTH & SAFETY
-- Support the organisation of
savings groups to make qualified
workers available to farmers
-- Provide trainings on use of PPE
and safety measures so that
farmers work safely on their
farms
-- Support farmers to gather to
buy agricultural inputs in bulk to
reduce their costs
-- Develop adapted recording tools
to optimised costs related to oil
palm production
-- Connect farmers with banks and
financial institutions to increase
investment capacity
Environment
Technical Knowledge
-- Map all farmers’ existing oil palm
plots to ensure that they are
located outside a forest reserve
boundaries
-- Support and advise farmers on
the development of their farms
to avoid land development in
forest areas
-- Organise individual training in
farmers’ fields, develop training
tools and organise field visits
to improve knowledge and
practices on oil palm production:
fertilisation, maintenance,
measures against erosion, etc.
INCOME DIVERSIFICATION
Logistics
Self-sufficiency
-- Develop business plans to
diversify income-generating
activities and provide adapted
trainings to increase the number
of farmers with livelihood
activities other than oil palm
-- Study the demand for road
development and contact road
construction firms to improve
the accessibility of farmers’
plots
-- Conduct technical trainings and
promote food crops production
to increase farmers’ self
sufficiency
-- Support the production of
vegetables (tomatoes, garlic,
onions etc.) that can be sold in
local markets
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