MULTIFUNCTIONAL

PLATFORMS

(MFP’S)
THEIR SOCIO –ECONOMIC IMPACT ON
RURAL LIVELIHOODS

A CASE STUDY OF SIX COMMUNITIES

IN THE NORTHERN REGION

BY
BERNICE AGYEKWENA
AUGUST 2009
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………3
1.1 Background of the Multifunctional Platform Programme………………5
1.2 What is a multifunctional platform………………………………………6
1.3 Which are the MFP beneficiary communities?...........................................6
2. How beneficiary communities experienced the MFP’s………………….....10
3. Impact of MFP on economic lives of beneficiaries………………………..25
3.1 Changnayili
3.2 Zosali
3.3 Chera
3.4 Nyerigiyili
3.5 Chalaam
4. Impact of MFP on academic lives of beneficiaries…………………………27
4.1 Changnayili
4.2 Zosali
4.3 Chera
4.4 Nyerigiyili
4.5 Chalaam
5. Impact of MFP on social lives of beneficiaries……………………………..28
5.1 Changnayili
5.2 Zosali
5.3 Chera
5.4 Nyerigiyili
5.5 Chalaam
6. A study of a Voggu-Botingli, a community without MFP …………………..30
6.1 Economic life
6.2 Academic life
6.3 Social life
7. Summary of findings…………………………………………………………...33
8. Recommendations……………………………………………………………..35
9. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..37
10. Appendix……………………………………………………………………....38

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 ‘The Energy available to man limits what he can do and influences what he will
do’ Fred Cottrell: Energy and Society
1.1 Introduction
With a landmass of 70, 383 square miles, the Northern Region is the largest
of the ten regions that make up the political divisions of Ghana, occupying a third
of the country’s
landmass. It is
bordered by the
Brong-Ahafo and
Volta regions to the
south and the Upper
East and Upper West
Regions to the north.
It also shares
boundaries with Togo
to the East and Ivory
Coast to the west.
Map of Ghana showing ten
political regions including the
Northern Region

The region has been

subdivided into 18
districts for
administrative
purposes and has
Tamale, which is also
the third largest city in
Ghana as its regional
capital.
Precipitation in
the region is generally
low. It has a short
rainy season that
usually begins in May and gives way to torrential monsoon rains characterized by
thunder and lightning in June, July and August. The rainy season tapers off in
October to give way to the hammattan season during which the region comes under
the influence of the North-East Trade Winds. Its vegetation is typically savanna,
suitable for a lot of shrubs and trees such as the silk cotton tree, cashew, the
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baobab, sheabutter, dawadawa, mango, and neem. The vegetation also supports a
lot of cereals and tubers such as
maize, millet, guinea corn, rice,
yam, cassava, and potatoes as well
as legumes such as groundnuts
and beans.
The region is sparsely
populated, with its population of
1,820,806 comprising only 9.6
percent of the country’s total
population of 21.7 million as at
2000, and a population density of
26 persons per square kilometer.
With a growth rate of 2.9 percent,
the population is projected to rise
to 2,090,399 in 2005 and
2,522,000 in 2009 giving it a
Map of Northern Region of Ghana, showing
population density of 35 people per square
the regional capital Tamale
kilometer for the year 2009. Populations of
settlements are often very small, with most of them ranging between 200 and 500.
In fact, 54.4 percent of the over 5000 settlements in the region are less than 200
while settlements are often situated very far from each other. While this settlement
pattern allows its inhabitants, whose mainstay is agriculture, to have access to vast
areas of land surrounding their villages for farming purposes, it impedes
government’s efforts at providing social amenities such as electricity, water and
health facilities to the inhabitants due to the absence of the economics of scale.
The vast majority of people in the region, 73percent, live in the rural areas
while 16.1 percent live in Tamale, the regional capital. The rest of the population
live in other urban towns such as the district capitals. l
About 71.2 percent of the population aged 15 years and above are engaged in
various forms of agricultural activity ranging from farming and hunting to agro-
forestry. However, the region continues to be poor with seven out every 10
inhabitants living in abject poverty. This is mostly due to a myriad of reasons that
prevent the farmers from reaping the real benefits of their occupation. These
include lack of access roads to marketing centres, lack of storage faculties as well
as technical knowhow on how to preserve their farm produce. They also lack
opportunities to process their produce so as to add value and also prolong their
shelf life.
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 This perpetual state of poverty that has gripped the region as a result of the
inability of the rural poor to break out of their poverty cycle has translated into
high infant mortality rates due to poor nutrition among nursing mothers and
children as well as lack of access to health facilities since only 18 percent of the
rural population live within 60 minutes of a formal health centre. The adult literacy
rate in the rural areas is less than seven percent while 40 percent of school age
children are out of school due to the inability of parents to enroll and keep their
wards in school. Above all, the region also has a high rate of rural urban migration
because the youth cannot find lucrative jobs in the rural communities.
1.2 Background of the Multifunctional Platform Programme
The Multifunctional Platform is the brainchild of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP). The idea behind the programme is to use
simple and inexpensive technology that can be manufactured and serviced locally
in beneficiary countries to provide energy to run a variety of end-user equipment
aimed at cutting down the amount of time and energy expended by people in the
rural areas in the performance of simple everyday tasks.
The technology was first pioneered in the West African Country of Mali in
1994 under a UNDO/IFAD regional programme and by 1999 had spread to
Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea and the Ivory Coast.
The development and promotion of the use of Multifunctional Platforms by
the UNDP forms part of an integrated development approach aimed at enhancing
local capacity in developing countries to have access to sustainable energy. This is
because the availability of energy is essential to sustainable development and
efforts at poverty reduction. The UNDP has realized that, without an improvement
in the quality and accessibility to energy among rural communities in Africa, the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG) earmarked for the continent would not be
achieved. Under MDG 1, UNDP is expected to cut down by 50 percent the number
of people living in poverty by 2015.
Between April 2005 and March 2008, the UNDP established the
Multifunctional Platform Programme in Ghana through its Regional Energy and
Poverty Programme. Funding for the programme was provided by the UN Trust
Fund for Human Security under the Government of Japan.
A total of 40 multifunctional platforms were established in rural
communities around Atebubu in the Brong/Ahafo Region and around Salaga and
Tamale in the Northern Region.
In the Northern Region, the programme was carried out in conjunction with
a consortium of Non-governmental Organsations, including New Energy, which is
based in Tamale. New Energy set up eight Multifunctional Platforms in selected
communities in the region with the sole aim of providing sustainable energy
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services to these communities to revamp the agro-processing industry, strengthen
human capacity and enhance community –led energy services provision.

1.3 What is a Multifunctional Platform?

A Multifunctional Platform, as the name implies, is a multipurpose device
that provides several services from one basic unit. The platform is made up of a
diesel engine fastened unto a chasis on which it is possible to mount a variety of
devices such as a grinding mill, a rice huller, a sheanut crusher and battery chargers
among others.
The main objective of a multifunctional platform is to bridge the energy gap
that is normally peculiar to rural African communities by providing them with an
alternative
source of
energy which is
under their own
management
and control.
The
energy provided
by
multifunctional
platforms is
normally
utilized in the
area of the
processing of
farm produce
such as millet,
maize, rice,
beans and Sheanuts being crushed on a sheanut crusher on a multifunctional platform
guinea corn
which constitute the staple food of most rural communities as well as sheabutter
and groundnuts.

1.3 Which are the MFP beneficiary communities?

Since Multifunctional platforms are meant to meet the energy needs of rural
communities that lack electricity and other sources of energy so as to reduce the
drudgery associated with everyday tasks such as processing grains for food which
is peculiar to energy poor rural communities, the beneficiaries of this project were
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all energy poor
rural
communities.
Those that form
the subject
matter for this
exercise include
Changnayili,
Zosali,
Challam, Chera
and Nyerigyili,
all rural
communities in
the Northern
Region of
Ghana.
Changnayili –
Changnayili is a Rural communities were the beneficiaries of the Multifunctional Platform Programme
peri-urban
community
situated just 15 kilometres from Tamale, the regional capital. However, in spite of
its proximity to the capital, the community lacks electricity and other utilities that
are taken for granted in Tamale. The community submitted a letter of request to be
part of the Multifunctional Platform Programme to New Energy based on which a
pre-study was conducted followed by a participatory feasibility study in July, 2005.
The study revealed that women in the area have to make a round trip of eight
kilometers to Zuo, to process maize, cassava, groundnuts, or a round trip of 22
kilometres to Tugu to process rice. Anytime they failed to access the services of a
grinding mill at Zuo, they had to travel further to Tamale for these services.

With a population of just 374 comprising only 36 households Changnayili does not
meet the criteria under which rural communities are considered for the provision of
basic services such as electricity by Central government.
Zosali- Zosali is a farming community located 59 kilometres from Tamale on the
Bolgatanga road. Following an expression of interest in the Multifunctional
Platform Programme by Mrs Abigail Afishetu Dery, a member of the community,
New Energy conducted a study in the community to assess its viability in July
2006. It was considered for the programme because it was found to be viable.
The study showed that the community suffered from energy poverty, a
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factor that had led to a drastic reduction in the cultivation of cassava, which was
once vibrant in the community, as a result of post –harvest losses suffered by
farmers due to lack of agro-processing facilities to process and preserve them. In
addition, the study revealed that children are often taken out of school to assist
their mothers to process their farm produce in other communities.
As at 2006, the community had a population of 1,255 with a total of 68
compounds. Children were found to constitute half of the population. The people
indulge in a myriad of economic activities including farming, trading, tailoring,
charcoal burning, masonry and transport business. However agriculture dominated
their income generating activities with their highest income originating from
sheanut picking and processing, farming, rice processing, and groundnut
processing.
The community’s primary school at the time of the study had enrolled 104
pupils, with boys constituting 40 percent and girls 60 percent. The school had an
attendance rate of 70 percent and a dropout rate of 10 percent. It was discovered
that lateness to school, absenteeism and drop out were caused by the heavy work
schedule of children in the area.
Chera- Chera is a small farming community with a population of only 165 as at
December 2006. It is located in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region
and is 135 kilometers from the regional capital. It is also 30 kilometres from
Walewale, the district capital and nearest source of electricity.
The women of Chera engage in a number of income generating activities,
with the most lucrative being farming, sheabutter processing and groundnut oil
extraction. Men in the community also derive their best incomes from farming,
animal rearing, charcoal burning, hunting and honey tapping.
When Mr Joseph Wuni, a farmer and member of the community approached
New Energy to be considered for the Multifunctional Platform Programme, a study
was conducted in the community to assess the viability of the project. The study
revealed that Chera had a large valley suitable for large scale rice cultivation but
processing was a big challenge for them since the community had no single
grinding mill. As at the time of the study, the applicant had 150 bags of unmilled
rice for sale from which he could have earned more money if he had been able to
process them. The community members, who were very enthusiastic about the
prospect of having their own milling facilities, expressed their willingness to
expand agro-processing activities once they had their own mill. They intended to
increase the quantity of weanimix produced from five to 20 bowls, triple rice
processing and increase the quantity of sheanuts and groundnuts that they process
into oil and butter.
The study also discovered that there was very little energy available to the
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people for both domestic and business ventures, with each household spending an
average of 2.2 Ghana Cedis on dry cell batteries to power equipment such as radios
and tape recorders. The low population of the community was at first considered an
obstacle to the viability of the project but it was discovered that satellite
communities had a higher population of 2,155 which would serve as an additional
market for the project.
In the field of education, Chera had a nursery and primary school with a
population of 317 pupils which served it and other nearby communities.
Nyerigiyili- Nyerigiyili is situated 16 kilometres near Savelugu in the
Savelugu/Nanton District of the Northern region. It has a population of 300 people
comprising 25 households. The people are predominantly farmers and cultivate
cereals such as rice, maize, guinea corn and millet, tubers such as yam, legumes
such as beans and groundnuts with the major cash crop being sheanuts which is
picked from the sheanut tree that grows wild. The people also engage in poultry
keeping by rearing fowls and guinea fowls and also keep livestock such as goats,
sheep and cattle. The community lacks a lot of infrastructure can boast of only a
mosque while it shares a school with Sandu, a neighbouring community. However,
the Non-formal Education Division (NFED) has been running an adult literacy
programme at the community for about 15 years now which is attended by both
men and women in the community.
Nyerigiyili is an energy poor community which had no grinding mill prior to
participating in the Multifunctional Platform Programme. The nearest grinding mill
was situated at Sandu, three kilometers away. Inspite of this, community members
engaged in agro-processing activities such as rice and sheabutter processing and
sold the products at Savelugu market.
Following a request made by Mr Iddrissu Iddi, a farmer and a member of the
community to be a participant in the Multifunctional Platform Programme being
implemented in the region by New Energy, a number of studies were conducted in
the community. After satisfying the criteria for selection, Mr Iddi was admitted to
the programme thus making a grinding mill available to his community.
Challam- Challam is a predominantly farming community, a reality that caught the
attention of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) which assists
them with tractors to plough their fields. The major crops cultivated in the
community are rice, maize, yam, beans, groundnuts, millet, guinea corn and
several other crops suitable for the savanna climate. It has a population of 400
comprising 29 households and is situated in the Savelugu District. It is 18 miles
from Tamale. The dominant economic activities for women are sheabutter and rice
processing, groundnut oil extraction and paste making, as well as the sale of maize
flour. Men in the community derive their major income from farming, grain
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banking, livestock keeping and the sale of meat (butchering).
The community lacks a lot of infrastructure and can boast of only a primary
school and a mosque. In addition, despite the fact that it is an agrarian community,
it has no facilities to process its agricultural produce. The Alzarsi women’s group
in the community applied to be part of the Multifunctional Platform Programme
after they were informed about it by the group’s secretary, Mr Abdulai Alhassan.
Following investigations conducted by New Energy, the community was
recommended for the programme and was provided with a platform in the year
2005.

2. How beneficiary communities experienced the MFP’s

2.1. The grinding mill a peacemaker? (The experience of Changnayili)
When the Presbyterian Church of Ghana decided to establish a primary
school at Changnayili six years ago, people in the community were very happy that
at long last, their children would be able to school in their own community. But not
the people of Pagazaa, the neighbouring community where their children used to
school. They saw the siting of a school block at Changnayili as a factor that would
undermine their own school, which hitherto, had served the two communities as
well as other nearby communities. Thus begun the conflict between the two
communities. Members from both communities stopped visiting one another’s
villages. They even quarreled about which community owned the baobab tree that
stood at their boundary. So for the sake of peace, it was agreed that the baobab tree
and other trees and shrubs at the boundary should be declared a ‘no man’s land’
and a forest reserve..
The stalemate or cold war between the two communities continued unabated
until three years ago when a multifunctional platform was established at Chanayili’
with the assistance of New Energy in partnership with the Tizaa-Dini Women’s
group under a UNDP programme aimed at alleviating poverty, especially in the
rural parts of Africa. The people of Pagazaa, who in the past had had access to a
diesel grinding mill that was no longer operational had no choice but to swallow
their pride and bury their differences with the people of Channayili in order to mill
their farm produce there.
Narrating how the multifunctional platform has impacted upon the lives of
the people of Chanayili, Mr Ibn Baako Ibrahim, Assistant Head teacher of
Chanayili Presbyterian Primary, said “the mill has come to unite the two villages
where other peace initiatives has failed. Pagazaa and Changnayili were always at
loggerheads but now the people of Pagazaa are forced to come here to mill their
produce and the situation has changed today, thanks to the mill”. The mill also
promoted marriage among young men in the community; “More young men are
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marrying. The young women from other communities did not want to marry our
young men because of the hardship associated with travelling several kilometers in
search of a grinding mill. But today, they agree to marriage proposals from our
men without hesitating”, Mr Ibrahim said.
Mr Iddrissu Mohammed, Head teacher of the school, was pleased that school
children no longer had to abandon classes to go to Tamale or Zuo to mill grains for
the family. “In January 2005, I was on my way to school when I met four girls
riding bicycles. I asked them why they were not in school and they told me they
were going to Tamale to grind grains for their families. But since we had the mill,
absenteeism from school amongst girls has reduced as well as truancy among the
general student body since some of the pupils used to skip classes for as long as
three days under the pretense that they have been sent to the mill.”, Mr Mohammed
said. Even the relationship between the school’s staff and members of the
community is now cordial. “Parents used to send their children to mill grains
during classes hours without telling us. So we used to confront them and this
sometimes led to unpleasant situations”, Mr Mohammed explained. He said
generally, discipline among schoolchildren has improved since they no longer have
reason to loiter around during teaching hours.
Madam Martha Napari, Makazia (women’s leader) of the community said
the establishment of the multifunctional platform has released ample time for
women to indulge in other activities by reducing the time spent on milling grains to
a mere thirty minutes or less. This is in contrast with the past when they had to hire
a bicycle to Zuo or make
a round trip in a taxi to
Tamale at the cost of 1.40
Ghana cedis. “Before the
mill came, if you leave
here in the morning to
grind your grain in
Tamale, you return at
2.pm if the lights are on.
If the lights are off, you
may have to stay for a
longer time”. Madam
Napari, who is a farmer
and petty trader, said she
now uses the time she
would have to travel to
Martha Napari uses her extra time on her farming activities mill her grains on her
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farming activities which has led to an increase in yields.
Salamatu Sayibu, a community member, said, in the past community
members experienced a lot of hardship due to the absence of a grinding mill. She
recalled that once, she went to Tamale to mill maize to prepare dinner but failed to
do so because the mill encountered some problems. She was therefore forced to
carry her maize back home unmilled. She said because she did not want her
children to sleep on an empty stomach, she had to use a mortar and pestle to
process some rice to boil for them to eat before going to bed. “But now, the
situation is different. I can grind maize and prepare food for the children before
they even arrive from school because the grinding mill is right here in the village”,
she said.
Samantha Buguli, another resident of the community also had a similar story
to tell. “When we did not have a mill, at times we go the grinding mill and come
back at midnight, so late that we cannot cook. We go to bed hungry. For the small
children, we may cook a little rice or pound guinea corn to prepare yama for
them”. Madam Samantha, who is a food vendor, said with the siting of the mill in
the village, her family does not only enjoy regular meals and avoid eating late but
her business has also boomed. “I can cook rice and sell everyday now because I
can now easily process my rice in the village.”
Another issue that the establishment of the multifunctional platform seems
to have impacted on is in the area of family life and violence against women.
During a group discussion with the women of Chanayili, Madam Amatu Abukari
confessed how once she had to stay on at the mill until a very late hour to mill her
maize. Frustrated, she arrived home and took it out on her husband, accusing him
of not coming to look for her in view of the late hour at which she was coming
home. Her husband took offence and beat her up, for as the saying goes, “a hungry
man is an angry man”. Madam Abukari was also unfortunate enough to suffer a
fall during pregnancy while coming home from the grinding mill; “I was pregnant
and went to the mill. On my way home, it was very dark. I stumbled and fell,
pouring out all my flour”, she said.

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 Operating the multifunctional platform, however, has not always been
smooth sailing. “The machine consumes a lot of engine oil hence the running cost
is high. The rims are weak and the pumps are not good’, said Iddrissu Bambo, the
operator of the multifunctional platform at Chanayili.
Mr Bambo said anytime the machine broke down and they called on the
mechanic, who resided in Tamale, to come, he always delayed in coming to their
assistance. He said the machine had broken down for the past two weeks now but
the mechanic had failed to show up even though he had been informed. He said
despite the fact that he and his assistant, Awal Sulemana, have been operating the
machine ever since it was installed, they have no knowledge about how to repair it.
He therefore called on New Energy to consider training the operators themselves to
repair the
machines when
they break down.
Collaborating the
concern raised by
the operator about
delays in repairing
the multifunctional
platform when it
breaks down, Mr
Ibrahim said,
“recently we had a
breakdown and the
whole class was
deserted because
most of the girls
had gone to Operators idle at the multifunctional platform at changnayili because it has broken
Tamale to mill down
maize and rice for
an impending naming ceremony. The boys capitalized on that and did not come to
school while the little girls were also taken along to nurse their siblings. One
remarkable thing about this village is their community spirit. Anytime there is a
festive occasion all the children are mobilized to work”
Mr Ibrahim said because of the positive impact that the multifunctional
platform has had on their lives, all are concerned about its maintenance. “We pay a
lot of attention to the mill. We contribute money to repair it. Even children are
ready to contribute money to buy fuel to run the mill because they know that if it is
functioning well, they will not have to travel long distances to mill their farm
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produce”. He appealed to New Energy to help the community acquire a new
battery for their solar lamp, saying, “We have no lights. The solar lamp has broken
down and the battery will cost us 600, 00 Ghana Cedis.

2..2 Women move from sheanut picking to sheanut processing at Zosali

Until the year 2006 when the Zosali community had access to a
multifunctional platform, women in the community were content to pick sheanuts
from the abundant sheanut trees surrounding the community and sell them to
women in other communities for processing. But now the story is different. The
women of Zosali do not only pick sheanuts but also process them into butter which
fetches them a higher income.
Ferusa Sulemana, who now earns her living from farming and sheabutter
extraction, said “before the arrival of the mill, we did not extract sheabutter. We
used to pick the nuts and
sell them. Now most of us
are into sheabutter
processing”
Sanatu Yakubu, who
used to produce sheabutter
on a small scale before the
arrival of the mill said
women from Zosali used to
mill their produce at Kadia,
two kilometers away or
Diare which was a bit
Sheanut trees at Zosali
further. However, none of
the mills in those
communities had a sheanut
crusher so it was difficult to make sheabutter. “We used to crush the sheanuts by
pounding it in the mortar with a pestle. We used to sustain wounds in our hands
from pounding sheanuts”. Madam Yakubu said because of the difficulty involved
in crushing the nuts in the past, she could process only a bag of sheanuts into butter
in a month. But with a sheanut crusher now available in the community, she
processes three bags in a month since the sheanut crusher can crush a bag of
sheanuts in just thirty minutes. This, she said is in contrast with crushing the nuts
manually which can take one whole day. She said whereas she used to make just
four Ghana cedis profit on the sale of one bag, she now makes 12 Ghana cedis
profit on the sale of three bags in a month.i
The arrival of the mill at Zosali has not only boosted the sheanut extraction
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industry but has also improved upon the quantity of oil extracted from groundnuts.
According to Madam Yakubu, when they used to travel far to mill their
groundnuts, the time lapse between roasting the groundnuts and milling it as well
as extracting the oil after milling into paste was great. “This made us to extract less
oil from the paste. You tend to extract more oil from the paste when you process it
immediately after grinding and when you grind it immediately after roasting.
When you allow the paste to stay for a period of time after roasting or grinding,
you get less oil”. Madam Yakubu said as a result of the improvement in her trade,
she can now provide her children with school uniforms as well as pocket money
for school.
However, the assertion by Madam Yakubu and other women of Zosali
community that the boom in the sheanut extraction business as a result of the mill
has enhanced their capacity to take care of their children in school was debunked
by some school teachers.
Mr Emmanuel Agama, a teacher of Zosali District Assembly Primary school
said; “The extra money realized by the women would not impact on the academic
lives of school children. Education is not a priority in this community. The women
have their own priorities and they spend the money on that. The school children
still lack basic things like pens and pencils.’ He was supported by Sumaila Yakubu,
another teacher at the school who said “some children did not have pens to write
during examinations.”
According to Mr Agama, “there is virtually no difference between the time
when Zosali had no mill and now that it has a mill when it comes to school
attendance. Women do those jobs and not children and even when they did, they
never did that during school hours”.
Mr Yakubu said some of the children were rather absent from class during
the sheanut picking season when they went along with their parents to the bush to
assist them to collect sheanuts.
When asked whether the boom in the sheanut extraction business might have
pushed some parents to keep their children away from school to help them to
collect sheanuts in view of the extra profits that they now make, the teachers said
they were unsure whether such a thing had happened.

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 Contrary to what the teachers said, some of the school pupils who were
interviewed said the presence of the mill has had a positive impact on their
academic lives. Fatimah Alhassan, a 16 year old pupil, said, “Before the mill came,
I used to pound sheanuts in the afternoon after school twice every week. I used to
wish I would be free to play and do other things. But now that the mill is here, I no
longer pound but I only help my mother to carry the sheanuts to the mill.”
Miss Alhassan said her mother now has access to micro-credit, because she
has expanded her business. “She (mother) gives me pocket money. She buys me
more books than before; she buys my uniform and pays my schools fees. I now use
the time for pounding sheanuts in the afternoon to do my homework which I used
to do in the night”.
Eleven year old Iddi Alhassan Sayibu, another pupil of the school, was also
happy about the
presence of the mill at
Zosali “I used to ride to
Kadia after school hours
to grind maize. But
since the mill came, I
have never been sent to
mill maize. My mother
does it.” Master Sayibu
said his mother’s
business has expanded.
“She used to make
kpilikpili, (a local pastry
made from groundnut
paste after the oil has
Women busily crushing and milling sheanuts
been extracted) twice a
week. Now she does it
always unless she runs out of groundnuts”.
He said the presence of the mill has impacted on his academic life. “My
books were not more than ten. Now, I have more than ten books. She bought me a
dagbani text book, pens and sandals. I get pocket money of 50 Ghana pesewas
every day. The mill has been a blessing to all of us”.
Mr. Alidu Tia, a farmer who is also a part time operator of the mill at Zosali,
said the mill enjoys a monopoly when it comes to the extraction of sheabutter at
Zosali and its satellite communities. “There are other mills but they have no
crusher. They have stopped grinding sheabutter and grind only maize.
Mr. Tia was quick to point out that the influx of women to his mill to mill
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their sheabutter was not just because of the crusher but the fact that the mill is
always in good condition. “The quality of work depends on the sharpness of the
blades and the strength of the engine. I sharpen my grinding blades regularly”.
On the running of the multifunctional platform, he said he uses two and a
half gallons of engine oil, with each gallon costing 16 Ghana Cedis which he
changes every 30 days. He also uses a maximum of 15 gallons of diesel a month
which he buys at the cost of five Ghana cedis, 20 pesewas. Hence, in a month, M r
Tia spends a total of one hundred and eighteen Ghana cedis on fuel to run the
multifunctional platform. He also charges 30 Ghana pesewas for milling a bowl of
maize, millet or guinea corn and three Ghana cedis for crushing and milling a basin
of sheanuts. He described his rates as standard since all the mills in the vicinity
charge the same rates.
Mr Tia, who described the milling business as profitable, said he earns 10
Ghana cedis a month from working in the mill which belongs to his sister.

2.3 A woman digs a well to boost her business at Chera

Three years ago, the women of Chera had two major problems that impeded
their development in all aspects of life; access to potable water and the lack of an
appropriate technology for agro-processing. Hence, when the community had
access to a multifunctional platform in June 2007, thus bringing an end to the
drudgery associated with trekking long miles just to mill a basin of grain or
sheanuts, one woman decided to take her fate into her own hands by resolving the
other major problem confronting the community- access to potable water.
Talata Wuni, a teacher and business woman at Chera, said “I used money
that I saved from the expenses that I used to make in travelling to Walewale and
other communities to process my grain to dig a hand-dug well.”
The women of Chera used to pay four Ghana cedis per person for a round
trip to Walewale to mill their grain. They also had to pay a fee for their produce,
with a bag of rice costing as much as eight Ghana cedis for a round trip.

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 Those who could not afford the fare had to walk the 18 kilometres to
Walewale, at times, only to be told that the mill has broken down. Those who were
desperately in need of a mill sometimes spent as much as three days at Walewale,
waiting for a grinding mill to be repaired for them to mill their grain.
The benefits of siting a multifunctional at Chera did not just end at the
digging of a hand-dug for Madam Wuni. “I now use the money I have been saving
on transport as well as the additional profits I have realized as a result of the
expansion of my business to care myself and my children. I have increased the
amount of food I give to my children and I can now provide them with pocket
money for school. I also use the time that I have saved from travelling to other
communities to work on my farm”.
Madam Wuni is
engaged in farming as
well as agro-processing.
“I am a farmer. I also
process rice,
groundnuts and
sheabutter. I have
extended my business
to the rearing of small
ruminants such as sheep
and goats. I also have a
piggery.”
Recounting some of her
experiences at the time
when her community
did not have access to a
mill, she said, “At times
Talata dug a well following the establishment of a multifunctional platform we would travel to
to expand her business Walewale, stay in the
queue until eight pm
only to be told that the fuel is finished or the mill has broken down. This means no
food for that day. At times, we were forced to venture into strange communities in
search of a grinding mill”
Mariama Amidu, a widow, said because she could not afford to pay the fare
to Walewale she used to walk the 18 miles to the grinding mill, carrying her
sheanuts on her head.”But now, after crushing the sheanuts at home, we just bring
it here to the mill to grind it”. Madam Amidu said it takes her about three days to
crush a bag of sheanuts alone. Apart from sheanut extraction, she also brews pito,
- 18 -
processes rice and farms vegetables. She said as a result of the expansion of her
business, her children now eat well and she can afford to give her children and
grandchildren pocket money for school.
Talata Philip, a soap and tie & dye maker said she used to abandon her
business to travel in search of a grinding mill to grind her grains. But now that the
mill is close, she can schedule her activities so that milling grain does not interfere
with her business.
Thirteen year old Edith Kwaku who used to foot to school now rides to
school, thanks to the expansion of her mother’s kenkey business as a result of the
multifunctional platform. “My mother now uses a bag of maize in just three days.
Formerly, she used to prepare just three bowls of maize a day. I used to send the
maize to neighbouring communities to grind for my mother. Anytime it rained, I
got soaked and there were times when I even slipped and fell”.
Kassinu Zaaka, also 13, remembered how his mother used to struggle to
process rice manually each time there was the need for communal labour; “the rice
produced then was of a lesser quality but the rice huller makes the rice very white,
like polished rice.” Master Zaaka also said “Before the mill, my mother used to
make just a small quantity of sheabutter, now she makes more so she has more
money and has bought me a bicycle, a school bag and a uniform. She also gives me
pocket money voluntarily.” He observed that since the arrival of the
multifunctional platform at the village, it has increased the amount of food
available thus improving upon food security in the village: “There used to be
scarcity of rice and sheabutter but now we have them in abundance.”
Afishetu Imoro, 13, said she used to travel to Walewale to process rice for
her mother. “I used to miss classes anytime I was sent to walewale because I will
come back late. My mother now processes two to three bags of rice a month
instead of one bag.” Miss Imoro said the mill has not only improved upon the
financial situation of her family, with her mother now providing her with a daily
pocket money of one Ghana cedi instead of 50 Ghana pesewas but has also eased
the burden of neighbouring communities who now come to Chera to mill their
farm produce.
Iddrissu Martinu, 13, also recalled how his mother and other women in the
community used to pound maize until their hands got swollen, saying “The
presence of the mill has eased the burden of the body”. He said taking late or
irregular meals among community members is now a thing of the past and his
family now dines before eight pm.
Teachers of Chera District Assembly primary school, which serves the
Chera, Yama and Broba communities were of the view that the establishment of the
multifunctional platform at Chera has impacted positively on education since most
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mothers used to send the pupils to Walewale to mill grain during classes hours
which affected their academic performance.
Mr. Ishmael K. Dabre, a teacher at the school, said lateness to school and
absenteeism among pupils, especially the girls, has reduced drastically. Besides
parents now feed their children better than they used to in the past and also provide
them with pocket money to buy food when they are hungry. He said several food
vendors now sell food at the school so if pupils are not able to eat at home before
coming to school, they can buy food at school. “Hence, our pupils now eat well
and this has led to better concentration at school. Most of them used to suffer from
low concentration because of hunger”.
“The pupils now have enough time to study. Most of the girls, especially
used to use mortars and pestles to pound grains for hours an end. But they now
invest that time in doing their homework”, Mr Dabre said.
He said the solar component of the multifunctional platform was an added
boost to the community since they used to find it difficult to charge their mobile
phones. “We now charge our mobiles free of charge.” He appealed to the UNDP to
assist the school with a solar battery that can power computers so that they can take
part in the ICT programme that has been introduced for all schools by the Ministry
of education. He was confident that if the school had access to solar electricity
some NGO’s would be ready to assist them with computers.
Mr. Fuseini Abdul Rahman, also a teacher, said the arrival of the mill has led
to a reduction in the price of rice, maize flour, groundnut oil and sheabutter while
Mr. Daniel Sebiyan, another teacher, said he no longer has to travel to Walewale to
buy rice since he can find the same quality of rice at Chera. Besides, anytime he
runs out of cash, he can buy rice from women in the community on credit,
something he cannot do with the women of Walewale.
Mr Joseph Wuni, a rice farmer and owner of the Multifunctional Platform,
said three main factors pushed him into signing up for the multifunctional platform
project with New Energy; the need to process his own rice after harvesting, a
cultural practice among people in the community that required that people be
served with a traditional dish made from maize flour before burying a deceased
elderly person and the need to find a solution to the rampant quarrels between
farmers and owners of piggeries during the farming season.
He said “I was forced to always travel to Walewale to process my rice and
maize and on one occasion I even lost half a bag of rice which I left at the mill
because there was no electricity for three days.”
He said when he became aware of the Multifunctional Platform Programme
at New Energy, he expressed interest and after carrying out a needs assessment at
the community, he was put on the programme. “Since then, my travelling out of
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my community do grind my produce has ceased”
He said their traditional funeral rites for the elderly which demanded that a
sheep be slaughtered in addition to the preparation of tuo zaafi or T.Z, a meal made
from millet or maize flour to be distributed to community members before the
corpse can be buried had proved to be burdensome in a community that had no
access to milling facilities. The presence of the mill has come to make the practice
more bearable.
Mr. Wuni said he normally stores the chaff after the rice has been processed
for the feeding of pigs, goats and sheep. This he said has helped to forstall the
situation where keepers of livestock and farmers were always at loggerheads
because the former had allowed their animals to graze on their farms.
He described the milling business as cost effective; “if we mill a great deal
of rice, we make profit. However, hard dried maize does not give so much profit
because one has to mill it over and over again for at least three times. When this
happens, more fuel is consumed but the women still pay the same price. Millet and
guinea corn pose no threat to our profits because they are soft and are milled only
once”.
“African culture also allows blood relations a right to free services hence
members of the extended family expect free services which affects profit”, He
explained.
Mr Wuni said the multifunctional platform also breaks down very often; “the
attachments to the platform, the corn mill and the rice processor frequently break
down. Some parts of the machine have also cracked several times and have had to
be welded twice”. He said it would cost 70 Ghana cedis to buy a new part to
replace the cracked one but he was afraid to do so because he was not sure of the
quality. In addition, the bottom knot to the machine always breaks down.
He said the frequent breakdowns as well as recent increments in fuel prices
have increased the running cost of the mill. However, attempts at increasing the
rates to make the business more cost effective are strongly resisted by the
community members.
Isaac Wuni, son of Mr Wuni and full time operator of the multifunctional
platform, said he always travels to Walewale to buy diesel at six Ghana cedis per
gallon and engine oil at 13 Ghana cedis per gallon to run the machine. He said he
uses a gallon and a litre of engine oil in a month, after which the oil is drained
while he uses twelve gallons of diesel in a week, bringing the total cost of fuel to
37.88 Ghana cedis.

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2.4 Lack of credit facilities prevent women of Nyerigiyili from taking full
advantage of multifunctional platform for economic activities.
Following the establishment of a multifunctional platform at Nyerigiyili, a
village near Savelugu, the women who hitherto were not engaged in agribusiness
have taken up some income generating activities in agro-processing. However,
they are of the view that the lack of credit facilities to complement the
establishment of the platform has impeded their efforts at going into big time agro-
processing.
Alhassan Iddrissu, a farmer and member of the community said since the
installation of the platform, women in the community have taken up a lot of
income generating activities such as rice and sheabutter processing and the
extraction of oil from groundnuts. However, due to limited capital, profits realized
from such ventures are minimal and women can only afford to give their children
pocket money for school.
“We eat unpalatable soup
because the money they
make is not even enough to
buy meat for soup”, he said.
Rachia Mahamadu,
who processes sheanuts for
sale supported Mr Iddrissu’s
assertion that their capital is
too small. “Currently, I
process only eight bowls of
sheanuts at a time. I could
Women of Nyerigiyili want credit facilities
have processed one bag if I
had enough capital. Besides,
I have no money to buy a
roaster. I suffer a lot from the heat from roasting sheanuts manually”. Madam
Mahamadu said she makes a profit equivalent to the price of two bowls for every
eight bowls of sheanuts she processes and she spends it entirely on her children.
Fati Iddrissu, who processes 20 bowls of rice for sale said she normally
realizes two bowls as profit after sales. “I either cook it for the children to eat or I
sell it and use the proceeds to cater for their needs”.
Maraima Abdul Rahmani said she normally buys 20 bowls of groundnuts on
credit and after processing it, she is able to extract 18 bottles of oil from it and uses
the by- product to prepare kpilikpili, a local pastry for sale. “From this, I am able to
pay for the cost of the groundnuts after which I use what is left to give to my
children to go to school”.
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 However, members of the community agreed that despite the limitations
imposed on their income generating ventures by inadequate capital, the
multifunctional platform has a source of relief to them in several spheres of life.
“Before the mill came, we used to go to the farm expecting our wives to
bring us food to eat and they go will and spend the whole day, if not days at the
mill. When this happens, we do not get food to eat and it affects our farming
activities. Also, at times when you want women to assist you with planting, they
are not around because they have gone to look for a grinding mill”, Mr. Iddrissu
explained.
He said women from the community used to go to Savelugu or travel 22
miles to Tamale to mill their produce. At times, young men assist by picking the
produce on a bicycle but a strong woman walks all the way to Savelugu then picks
a vehicle to Tamale if she cannot get a mill there.
Mr Osmana Iddrissu, a farmer and part time operator of the mill which
belongs to his father said he always buys fuel for running the machine from
savelugu, where one gallon of engine oil sells at 16 Ghana cedis while a gallon of
diesel sells at five Ghana cedis, 10 pesewas. He said he uses two gallons of engine
oil and 60 gallons of diesel a month bringing the monthly total cost of running the
platform to 33.8 Ghana cedis. He however admitted that work at the mill is not
always uniform but varies. “We can use over two gallons of diesel on a hard
working day, a gallon when the work is not much and there are times when we
have no work at all”.
On the charges, Mr Iddrisu said the normal charge for a bowl of maize is 20
Ghana pesewas but they often reduce it to 15, especially for soaked maize, guinea
corn and millet because people are poor. He said it is a business technique to
encourage people to choose his mill above other mills in the vicinity. Milling a
bowl of groundnuts is also pegged at 15 Ghana pesewas while a medium sized pan
of sheanuts and a big pan of sheanuts cost one Ghana cedi, fifty pesewas and two
Ghana cedis respectively. The multifunctional platform , he said, enjoys a
comparative advantage since people from surrounding villages also patronize it
while people from his village never go anywhere else to mill.
Mr Iddrissu iddi said he was motivated to go in for in for the Multifunctional
Platform Programme under the auspices of New Energy because of the way his
wives suffered in securing the services of a grinding mill, especially in times when
he had to organize communal labour for farming activities. “There were times
when I was forced to postpone such activities because my wives could not access a
mill to grind flour and rice for us to feed those I had invited”.
He said he was happy that the mill had not only brought relief to his wives
but has also benefited women in the village and nearby communities. He identified
- 23 -
the main obstacle to the efficient running of the multifunctional platform as
inability to access the right spare parts. “The mill wears out and some parts need to
be replaced. The rice huller broke down a number of times and the parts needed to
be replaced. I also had to buy a new engine block to replace the engine.”
Mr Iddrissu said he used profit accrued from running the mill to cater for the
expenses incurred by purchasing new spare parts which normally depleted his
profits. He also sited the issue of people wanting free services from the mill
because of blood relations and familiarity with him as another problem that has
affected the amount of profit made from running the mill.

2.5 Women in Chalaam take advantage of multifunctional platform to expand

income generating activities
When the Alzasi Women’s group of Chalaam decided to participate in the
Multifunctional Platform Programme being implanted in the Northern region by
New Energy, their main motivation was to eleminate forever from their lives the
drudgery associated with trekking to other communities in search of the services of
a grinding mill. However, the installation of the platform in the community has
paid off in other unforeseen ways by leading to the expansion of the economic
activities embarked upon by the women.
Mama Gurundoo, who used to mill 10 bowls of groundnuts before the
installation of the platform says she now mills a whole bag since she has no
problem with conveying it to the mill because it is close. Consequently, her profit
has increased from five bowls to 15 bowls of groundnuts. She said she needed a
machine to roast her groundnuts in view of the large amount she now processes
which is very tedious when done manually.
Samatha Imoro said she had also increased the amount of rice she used to
process and sell at Savelugu from 15 bowls to one bag, raising her profit from two
to four bowls while Amina Seidu also now processes a full bag of sheanuts instead
of 15 bowls. Madam Seidu said she uses proceeds from her profit which has now
increased from two to five bowls in susu collections to save money towards the
future.
Awabu Mahamin, a groundnut and soya bean farmer said she has increased
her farm from one to two acres since she now has more time to farm which has
improved her financial situation. “I normally leave my grains at the mill, go to the
farm and by the time I come back it has already being milled. I have three school
children and they do not have any problem”.
Before the installation of the mill, they used to walk as far as three and a half
miles to Savelugu whenever they failed to mill their produce from one of the
surrounding villages half a mile away. I used to skip classes in order to go the
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grinding mill”, Mary
Gurundoo, now a student
at the Government
Secretariat at Tamale
said. She said due the
expansion in her
mother’s business, she
has been able to foot her
bills for the secretariat
course at Tamale, gives
her pocket money and
buys her books worth 20
Ghana cedis. Neema
Imoro, a Junior High
School class three pupil Neema says her performaance at school has improved
said she also used to
either skip classes to go to the grinding mill or go to the mill after classes were
over. “Now, I do not need to skip classes and use my extra time to read.” Miss
Imoro said she no longer has to go out and gather firewood because her mother
now does it since she does spend time and energy travelling out of the community
to mill. Miss Imoro says her performance at school has improved as a result. She
said her mother, who is involved in rice processing, has increased her pocket
money from 10 Ghana pesewas to 50 Ghana pesewas which is a big motivation to
her to study harder.
Issaka Yamba, a primary six pupil and part time operator of the mill, said he
uses an average of 60 gallons of diesel and one and a half gallons of engine oil a
month which he buys from Savelugu or Yilonayili at five Ghana cedis, 10 pesewas
per gallon of diesel and 10 Ghana cedis per gallon of engine oil. The running cost
of the mill thus stand at 40.90 Ghana cedis per month.
Master Yamba said he charges 30 Ghana pesewas per bowl of maize, guinea
corn and millet, and 20 Ghana pesewas per bowl of sheanuts and groundnuts. He
described these charges as fair since it is the same all over the area.

3. Impact of MFP on economic lives of beneficiaries

3.1 Community One - Chanagyili
• Time spent trekking to nearby communities or to Tamale to grind maize,
millet and other farm produce is now invested in working on their farms
leading to increased yields.

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 • Money used to rent bicycles or for vehicle fares to Tamale now used to cater
for other pressing needs.
• Has led to the reduction of the price of rice.
• Women who sell cooked food such as rice have expanded their businesses
because they can afford to cook everyday because they can mill their rice as
often as possible.
• Has abolished losses associated with accidents incurred while traveling to
Tamale to mill farm produce.

3.2 Community two- Zosali

• Time spent trekking to Kadia or waiting long hours at other grinding mills
now invested in work on farms
• Reduced the time and energy spent in crushing a bag of sheanuts from one
day to 30 minutes.
• Has led to a boom in the sheabutter extraction industry. Instead of picking
sheanuts and selling them to women in other communities, most women
now process their own sheanuts into butter.
• Women engaged in the extraction of groundnut oil realize more groundnut
oil from their nuts than before.
• Economic turnover of women involved in the sale of processed food such as
groundnut paste and kpillikpili has increased.

3.3 Community three – Chera

• Women have expanded their economic activities due to the availability of a
mill
• Women now save money spent on fares to go to walewale to mill their farm
produce.
• Women no longer trek to Walewale and other communities to mill their
produce saving a lot of time and energy.
• Prices of food such as rice, maize flour groundnut paste, groundnut oil,
sheabutter and millet flour have decreased since women spend less money,
time and energy in their processing.

3.4 Community four- Nyergiyili

• Women who previously were not involved in income generating activities
have now taken up activities in agro-processing.
• Those who were already engaged in income generating activities have
expanded their business.
- 26 -
 • Women now save a lot of time and energy which has been diverted into
more lucrative activities.
• Women now save money spent on transportation to Savelugu and Tamale to
mill their farm produce.
• Men can now count on women to help them during planting and other
farming activities because they are always available.
• Men have more energy to embark on farming activities because their wives
are around to send food to them on the farm

3.5 Community five- Chalaam

• Women now have time for household work and other economic activities
because they save time from trekking to savelugu and other communities.
• Women have expanded their income generating activities
• Women have expanded the size of their farms

3. Impact of MFP on Academic lives of beneficiaries

3.1 Community One- Changnayili
• School pupils no longer skip classes to go to Tamale to mill their farm
produce
• There has been a reduction in truancy among school pupils since some of
them used to skip classes under the pretense of being sent by their mothers
to go to Tamale and mill farm produce.
• It has boosted the morale of teachers since they no longer come to school to
meet a half empty class.

3.2 Community two- Zosali

• School girls no longer spend their time crushing sheanuts with a mortar and
pestle thus releasing more time for them to study.
• School children no longer have to trek two kilometres to Kadia to mill their
farm produce.
• Mothers are able to meet the academic needs of their children by buying
them enough exercise books and other text books because they now make
more money.
• School children can learn and concentrate better in school due to better
nutrition at home and the provision of pocket monies to them by their
mothers to buy food in school when they are hungry.

3.3 Community three- Chera

- 27 -
 • School girls no longer spend time and energy crushing sheanuts or maize
with a mortar and pestle.
• School children no longer trek to Yama or travel to Walewale to mill
sheanuts and maize.
• Some mothers have been able to buy bicycles for their children to ride to
school as a result of improvement in business activities stimulated by the
availability of a grinding mill. This is an incentive for the children to study.
• Enterprising mothers are now able to meet the financial obligations of their
children’s education by paying their school fees and buying them textbooks.
• Mothers can feed their children better and provide them with pocket money
to buy food at school leading to an improvement of the nutritional status of
school children.
• The availability of the grinding mill has spawned a lot of food vendors on
the schools premises thus making food readily available to hungry school
children.
• The mill is a boost to the school feeding programme for school children
since the school grinds all its foodstuffs at the mill.
4.4 Community four – Nyerigiyili
• School children, especially girls, no longer have to spend time and energy
travelling out of the community to mill farm produce.
• Mothers can afford to give children pocket money to go to school
4.5 Community five- Chalaam
• Children no longer spend valuable time at the mill instead of studying.
• Children do not have to skip classes to go and mill grains for their mothers.
• Children can count on their mothers for pocket money and money to meet
other needs when going to school.
• Better nutrition at home means children can now concentrate better in
school.
• Better nutrition and less tedious work like trekking to mill grains would
improve the health of children making them less prone to sickness which
would undermine their academic achievement.

5. Impact of MFP on social lives of beneficiaries

5.1 Community One- Changnayili
• Less conflicts between husbands and wives as a result of wives coming
home late from the grinding mill or due to late preparation of the evening
mill
• Has led to increased interaction between people from Changnayili and those
- 28 -
 from other villages
• Has promoted peace between the people of Changnayily and the who were
at loggerheads
• Women from other villages are now willing to marry men at Changnayili
because they know they know life would be less difficult for them because
of the grinding mill.
• Has reduced tension and confrontations between teachers and parents
because they no longer encourage their children to skip classes in order to
grind their farm produce.
• Families no longer have to go to bed hungry because they cannot get a
grinding mill to mill their maize or millet for the evening meal.
• Families now eat at more regular intervals (do not have to eat dinner very
late) because of the availability of the grinding mill.

5.2 Community two – Zosali

• There has been an improvement in the standard of living of familes.
• It has set up the process of wealth creation among women since they now
have access to micro-credit.
• It has become easier to organize social gatherings such as communal labour,
funerals, weddings and naming ceremonies because providing food on such
occasions is not hindered by lack of milling facilities.
• It has contributed to the psychological well-being of women and the
community as a whole by eradicating the stress and fatigue associated with
searching for milling services.
5.3 Community three- Chera
• Has promoted the timely celebration of funeral rights for the elderly by
making it possible for community members to quickly mill grain necessary
for carrying out such rights.
• It has promoted peace between farmers and livestock keepers by making it
possible for livestock keepers to feed their animals without allowing to free
range and destroy farms.
• People without ready cash can buy food on credit from food vendors and
grain due to proximity, familiarity and trust.
• Has promoted food security in the community by making food more
available and cheaper.
5.4 Community four- Nyerigiyili
• Has promoted the psychological wellbeing of women by reducing stress and
tension associated with travelling as far as 22 miles in search of milling
- 29 -
 services.
• Women are now more available to meet the needs of their children, husbands
and other members of their household.
• Community members now find it easier to organize social gatherings that
demand the preparation of large quantities of food because they can easily
mill their grains.
• Has led to more interaction between the community members and members
of surrounding communities who come there to mill their grain.
5.5 Community five – Chalaam
• Children now have time to socialize and learn from each other instead of
spending all their spare time trekking to mills.
• Women suffer from less stress and tension worrying over how to cater for
their children since they now make enough money to meet their needs.
• It is now easier to organize social gatherings in the community since food
can easily be provided due to the availability of the multifunctional platform.
• General standard of living of families has improved.
• Has improved upon food security in the community.

6. A study of a community without an MFP and a comparative analysis with

MFP beneficiary communities.
Voggu- Botingli is a farming community in the Tolon/Kumbungu district of
the Northern Region. It is situated 21 kilometres from Tamale and 17 kilometres
from Tolon, its nearest electrical source. It has a population of 500 people
comprising 12 compounds. The community has no processing facilities such as a
grinding mill and women and children normally travel five kilometers to Gbullung
or 21 kilometres to Tolon to access the services of a mill.
In spite of this deficiency, community members engage in agribusiness such
as sheanut processing, rice processing, production of groundnut paste and kulikuli.
Being an agrarian community that cultivates a variety of crops such as maize,
guinea corn, millet, rice, soya bean, groundnuts, cassava, okro and pepper among
several others, it follows that the only other source of income apart from farming
would be derived from agro-processing.

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 The community has no school but had an active adult literacy class that was
established two years before a pre-study was conducted on it by New Energy
following their interest in the Multifunctional Platform Programme in October
2006. Members of the community complained that, because they had no mill in the
village, their farming activities have been undermined.
“If you do not want to stop your child from going to school, you have to stop
farming and go and grind your produce. But if the child goes to the grinding mill,
then he cannot go to school” said Sharatu Alhassan who processes rice for sale at
Gbullung and Tolon. Madam sharatu disclosed that, only 40 percent of the rice
produced in the area is processed for sale. “If we had a huller, we could have
processed 70 percent thus increasing our profits”. She disclosed that her business is
not flourishing due to
lack of a mill;
“presently, I process
only one bag of rice
from which I make
between two to three
Ghana cedis as
profit”. Hence, she
can afford to give her
three children only 20
Ghana pesewas as
pocket money for
school. She said if she
could make more
money from
Teenage girls returning to Voggu-Botingyili after milling their produce in processing rice, she
another community would have liked to
give her children a
nutritious meal before they go to school, give them more pocket money and give
them a good lunch. “I will also like to buy bicycles for them “, she added.
Amina Mahama, who processes sheanuts for sale, said she is forced to
process only a small quantity due to the distance she has to travel to the grinding
mill. “Sheanuts cannot be carried on a bicycle so I process only 20 bowls which
requires two people to carry it. I make about two Ghana cedis profit or more
depending on the quantity of sheabutter”. She recounted an incident last year when
she slipped and fell because it had rained and the ground was slippery. “Everything
got mixed up with the muddy water and I could retrieve nothing.”
“At times, the children get accidents with their bikes and lose all their grains.
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If we had a cornmill, such things would not happen”, said Saudatu Yussif, who
processes groundnuts for sale. “I process only ten bowls of groundnuts at a time
from which I make a profit of four Ghana cedis. If Voggu-Botingli had a mill, I
would have increased it to 15 bowls.”
Presently members of the community spend six hours to go to Gbullung to
mill their farm produce and come back home. If they are lucky enough to have a
bike, it may take them three to four hours to make a round trip to Gbullung.
“At times, we go to bed hungry because we cannot mill our flour. If the
machine breaks down, we leave our maize at the mill, come back home and sleep”,
said Madam Alhassan. She said apart from expanding her business, she would have
also increased the size of her farm if Vorgu-Botingli had a mill; “We spend a lot of
time on travelling to other communities to mill our grain and it is affecting our
farming activities”. Madam Yussif on the other hand said she would have used any
extra time resulting from the introduction of a multifunctional platform in the
community to look for extra firewood.
From the scenario enumerated above, it can be seen that certain economic,
social and academic issues arise from the lack of a grinding mill at Voggu
Botingyili. It is therefore necessary to document these issues.

6.1 Economic issues arising from the lack of a multifunctional platform

1. Farming activities are undermined because women have to leave their farms
to travel to other communities to mill their produce.
2. Women engaged in food processing process less food because of the
distance to the grinding mill.
3. Lack of a rice huller is a big hindrance to rice farmers because they process
less rice (40 percent).
4. Farmers earn less income from their farming activities because they cannot
add value to them through processing before selling.
5. Women spend a lot of time and energy trying to access the services of a mill
which could have been diverted into other economic activities.

6.2 Academic impact of lack of a multifunctional platform

1. School children spend time and energy travelling to other communities to
mill their mothers produce which could have been invested in academic
work.
2. Mothers have less money to spend on academic needs of school children
such as books, school fees, and pocket money which would impact
negatively on children.
3. Mothers do not have the economic ability to provide nutritious meals for
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 their children which can undermine their ability to concentrate in school.
4. Mothers cannot provide necessities such as bicycles for their children which
can motivate them to study harder.

6.3 Social Impact of lack of a multifunctional platform

1. Organizing social events such as weddings and naming ceremonies is a
tiresome activity because women have to travel long distances to process
food.
2. Women and children have less time to socialize and learn from one another
because of time and energy that is invested in milling activities.
3. Women and children have less leisure time.
4. Anxiety over how to access the services of a mill has a psychological impact
on the health of women.
5. The physical stress associated with carrying heavy weights and walking long
distances undermines the health of women and children.
6. Anxiety, worry and stress associated with poverty and not being able to meet
one’s basic needs undermine psychological wellbeing in rural communities.

7. Summary of Findings
Information contained in the preceding pages give evidence that the
Multifunctional Platform Programme has had economic, academic and social
impacts on the lives of beneficiary communities. The degree of this impact,
however, was found to vary from one community to another. Three factors appear
to govern how multifunctional platforms impact on beneficiary communities and
thus account for this variation. These are:
• Prevailing conditions or circumstances at the beneficiary community at
the time when the multifunctional platform was introduced- Changnayili
appears to have reaped more social benefits than the other communities,
since the multifunctional platform even became a unifying factor for them
and the neighbouring village of Pagazaa. This is due to two prevailing
circumstances; firstly, Changnayili was at loggerheads with his neighbor,
secondly, Pagazaa, which used to have access to a grinding mill no longer
had because it had broken down beyond repairs thus creating a situation
where the grinding came to play this role of a peacemaker. Another
prevailing condition at Changnayili that led to more social benefits was the
fact that women were unwilling to marry into that community because they
were energy poor. Again, the mill came to create a more favourable situation
leading to more bachelors getting married.
In addition, because Zosali already had a vast number of sheanut trees that
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 supported sheanut picking, the introduction of energy simply elevated the
community from a predominantly sheanut picking community to a sheanut
processing one. Thus, the prevailing circumstances at Zosali made this
economic achievement possible.
• How prepared the beneficiary communities were for the reception of the
platform- The preparedness of beneficiary communities to take advantage
of the introduction of new energy into their communities in terms of
available capital and their business acumen would normally determine the
degree of economic impact that the multifunctional platform would have
upon their lives, which would then spiral off into the social and academic
spheres. In terms of the availability of capital and business acumen, Chera
seems to be ahead of the other communities which resulted in a greater
economic impact than the rest of the communities. This contrasts with the
situation at Nyerigiyili where the women could not expand their business as
a result of lack of capital.
• The influence of surrounding or satellite communities- Even though
Chera had a small population, the influence of surrounding communities in
terms of population made the establishment of the platform a success. The
population at the school, which was 317 and higher than Chera’s population
of 165 as at the time the platform was installed, led to a thriving cooked food
industry in the village.
Another area where the communities exhibited variation was in the area of
fuel prices. The table below shows the variation:

Name of community Price of diesel Price of engine oil Total per month
Changnayili
Zosali 5.2 x 15 Ghc 16.0 x 2.5 Ghc 235.0 Ghc
Chera 6.0 x 12 Ghc 13.0 x1.25 Ghc 106. 25 Ghc
Nyerigiyili 5.1 x 60 Ghc 16.0 x 2 Ghc 644.0 Ghc
Chalaam 5.1 x 60 Ghc 10.0 x 1 Ghc 316.0 Ghc

The differences in the total monthly expenditure of the multifunctional

platforms for the various communities are a reflection not only of the
differences in fuel prices but also the differences in the volume of work
performed by the platforms. From the table, Nyerigiyili has the highest
expenditure on fuel and uses the highest amount of diesel (60 gallons).
Incidentally, it was also Nyerigiyili which had to change several parts of the
machine probably because the machine wore out more quickly because of

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 the volume of work.
Chalaam spends the second highest amount of money every month on fuel
and also uses 60 gallons of diesel a month, just like Nyerigiyili. During this
exercise, Chalaam reported of a major breakdown of the machine which they
had to use all their profits to repair.
If the figures provided on the amount of fuel consumed by the communites
are a correct reflection of their output, then it can be concluded that the rate
at which the machine wears out, necessitating that certain parts be replaced
is linked to the volume of work it has to perform.

8. Recommendations
In view of the constant occurrence of certain problems affecting the smooth
running of the multifunctional platform as well as its impact on the lives of
beneficiary communities, it has become imperative to take a critical look at these
problems in order to make suggestions geared towards their resolution.
One problem that most of the communities encountered is the rampant
breakdown of the multifunctional platforms. This problem might be due to the
following causes;
• Improper usage or maintenance practices by operators of the platform
• The platform is not sturdy enough to handle the volume of work that it
normally performs
• Stress on the machine from the environment due to overheating, humidity, or
temperature fluctuations.
For the above mentioned causes, the following recommendations can be made;
• Operators and users of the platform should be educated on the right handling
and maintenance of the platform
• More research should be carried out on the technology to develop improved
versions that are sturdier and can withstand the volume of work expected of
them.
• More research should be carried out to develop models that can withstand
the heat, temperature variations and other forms of environmental stress
peculiar to sub-saharan Africa which is situated in the tropics. Research
should take cognizance of the fact that metals contract when cold and
expand when hot. Hence, metals or alloys that are less sensitive to changes
in temperature should be used in the construction of the platforms.
Linked to the incident of the rampant breakdown of the multifunctional
platforms is the fact that, the operators know nothing about how to repair them
when they breakdown and have to wait for recommended artisans to come and

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 repair them. Some communities have complained that the artisans do not
respond swiftly when they are called upon to come to their aid and they
sometimes have to go for more than two weeks without the services of the
platform because the artisans have refused to show up. In this regard;
• It might be necessary to train the operators themselves to repair the
platforms when they breakdown. Giving such knowledge to the operators
would enhance their understanding of how the platforms work and hence
help them to maintain them better.
• Train artisans who reside in the same communities that the platforms are
located. This would speed up repair works on the platform whenever they
break down and save operators energy, money and time spent in travelling to
other communities to look for the recommended artisans.
Another issue that came up repeatedly was the lack of credit facilities to help
women take full advantage of the platform to embark on or expand upon their
income generating activities. This can be resolved by;
• Linking up women with NGO’s, banks and other organisations that offer
credit facilities for such economic activities.
• Encouraging women to form co-operatives to enable them take
advantage of credit facilities meant for co-operatives.
Some teachers also expressed concern that the increase in profits realized by
women as a result of the expansion of their businesses wrought by the
multifunctional platform might not be invested in important areas such as their
children’s education or better nutrition but rather in their own priorities. Such a
concern is genuine since there is the possibility that the extra income can be spent
on purchasing more cloths and collections of designer bowls and utensils that are
not needed. If this happens, the trickle -down effect expected to accrue from
multifunctional platforms to stimulate development in rural communities may not
take place. In this regard;
• It would be necessary to sensitize women to invest their earnings or profits
in areas that would yield returns such as the education of their children, good
nutrition or in the expansion of their business activities. They should be
made to see that buying trunks of clothing or piles of bowls and basins is a
sterile investment since monies spent on such ventures yield no dividends.
Women involved in the processing of sheanuts and groundnuts complained that
they suffer from over exposure to heat now that they have increased the quantity of
groundnuts and sheanuts that they process. Exposure to excessive heat constitutes a
major health risk that can lead to skin problems and also affects the womb, putting
unborn children and pregnant women at risk. Since the purpose of the
Multifunctional Platform Programme, which is geared towards promoting the
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wellbeing of rural communities would be undermined if women and unborn
children are exposed to health hazards, it would be in the interest of the programme
to;
• Encourage women to form groups and contribute money to buy roasters
• Assist them to obtain credit facilities to buy roasters.
Another issue that came to light during this exercise was the fact that, most
often, when multifunctional platforms are privately owned, they are operated by
relatives of the owners who sometimes run them on a part time basis. They are
either not remunerated at all or if they are remunerated, their remuneration is not
based on their output but is rather a token from the owner. It would be better if
private owners of multifunctional platforms adopt a more businesslike approach
and employ capable fulltime employees who would be remunerated according to
their output.

9. Conclusion
Ghana has an agrarian economy with the bulk of food and cash crops that
support this economy produced in the rural areas where 70 percent of its
population lives. Incidentally, it is these same areas that lack the very facilities
necessary for agro-processing to enable rural communities to add value to their
agricultural produce in order to preserve them and also promote the development
of agri-business at the grassroots. Not only does the lack of such facilities hinder
the development of rural economies but it also forces them to go through untold
hardships in a bid to undertake simple household tasks such as milling grains for
food, which also robs them of substantial time and energy that could have been
invested in development and intellectual activities.
It is therefore imperative that the widespread energy poverty peculiar to rural
areas be addressed since the availability of energy is a pre-requisite to all forms of
development.
From the above exercise, it can be concluded that the Multifunctional
Platform Programme that was implemented by the UNDP in conjunction with New
Energy in some rural communities in the Northern Region has injected a certain
amount of energy into these communities which has had a positive impact on their
livelihoods. This impact has been felt in the economic and social lives of members
of the community as well as the academic lives of school children.
In view of the information gathered from community members, devices such
as the multifunctional platforms that allow rural communities to have access to
energy to undertake otherwise simple tasks such as agro-processing could become
a lever for stimulating economic growth at the grassroots. This would in-turn
trickle down to generate other forms of growth such as the development of more
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intellectuals from the rural areas since school children would stay in school long
enough to acquire relevant skills and knowledge because they are being given
better care by their parents.
If such children decide to reinvest their monies in the development of their
families and projects for the rural areas as professional adults, it would generate
further development in the rural areas which could then eventually come out of
their poverty.
There would also be a revolutionary increase in the health status of rural
communities since they would eat more nutritious food, which is the number one
pre-requisite for good health, thus putting an end to illnesses such as aneamia and
kwashiorkor in children. By becoming healthier, members of rural communities
would be saving money spent on hospital bills and drugs; mothers would spend
less time nursing the sick and invest this time in productive activities and less
school children would have to skip school because of ill health leading to an
improvement in school attendance and better grades.
Furthermore, if life is made more bearable for people in the rural areas
through the provision of multifunctional platforms which would alleviate the
drudgery of rural live and provide them with employment opportunities through
the development of agribusiness, less people would migrate to the urban areas
where they end up in shanty towns and slums and are lured into crime by
unscrupulous persons because they do not employable skills. These are but just a
few of the numerous and sometimes unforeseen benefits of the platform.
In conclusion, one can argue that, the introduction of energy to rural
communities through the establishment of multifunctional platforms has a
multifaceted impact on development at the grassroots and even higher levels of
society.

10. Appendix
Questionnaire for beneficiary communities of multifunctional platforms.
Questions for women
1. When was the multifunctional platform established here?
2. Before, how were you milling your rice, maize, groundnuts, sheabutter and
other farm produce?
3. How long did you use to walk or how far did you have to travel to access
the services of a mill?
4. How many minutes or hours did you spend walking if you had to walk?
5. If you used a vehicle how much did you pay?
6. If you used a bicycle, did you hire it or borrow it?
7. Did you have to spend a long time queuing at the mill?
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 8. How many minutes or hours did you have to queue?
9. Were there situations when you travelled to a community and still could not
access the services of a mill or the mill broke down before you could mill
your produce?
10. Did you sometimes encounter unpleasant experience such as accidents, etc
in your efforts to mill your produce?
11. Did you sometimes mill your produce using traditional means such as a
mortar and a pestle?
12. How long did it take you to mill a quantity of rice, maize, millet and
sheanuts?
13. How much time have you saved on milling your produce since the
multifunctional platform was established in your community?
14. How much money have saved on transport.
15. What do you now do with the extra time and energy and money saved on
transport?
16. Do you have anything else to tell us about how the multifunctional platform
has helped you or your experiences before the platform was introduced?

Questions for school children.

1. Did you sometimes assist your mother to process her farm produce before
the introduction of the multifunctional platform in your community?
2. Where were you processing your farm produce then?
3. How far is the community where you used to process the farm produce for
your mother from here?
4. Were you going there by foot, in a vehicle or on a bicycle?
5. Did you sometimes have to miss classes in order to go and grind grain or
you used to go after classes and on the weekends?
6. How did this affect your studies?
7. Did you sometimes process grains the traditional way?
8. With the arrival of the multifunctional platform in your community, how
much time have you saved by not travelling to other communities to mill
grains for your mother?
9. What do you do with this extra time and energy that is now available to
you?
10. Has the availability of the mill led to an expansion of your mother’s
business?
11. If yes, has this impacted on your family in terms of better nutrition, more
money available to meet your academic needs at school such as buying of
books, uniform and pocket money?
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 12. Has your performance in school improved?
13. Can you give any more information on how the multifunctional platform
has affected your life and the rest of the community whether positively or
negatively?

Questions for teachers

1. Before the introduction of the platform, were school children sometimes
absent from school because they had to go to other communities to mill
grains for their mothers?
2. Did this affect their academic performance at school?
3. With the introduction of the mill, have school children stopped absenting
themselves from class with the excuse that they are going to the mill?
4. Has there been any improvement in their academic performance since the
mill was introduced.
5. Have you noticed any other improvement such as higher concentration at
school?
6. Do mothers now readily fulfil their financial obligations towards the
development of their wards such as paying fees and dues and buting
recommended textbooks and exercise books for their wards?
7. What else can you tell us about the impact of the platform on the lives of
school children and that of the community as a whole?

Questions for mill operators

1. Are you a full time or part time operator?
2. How much are you paid in a month?
3. How much do you spend on engine oil and diesel?
4. From where do you buy your engine oil and diesel?
5. How much do you charge per bowl of maize, guinea corn, millet, rice,
sheabutter and groundnuts?
6. Are your charges the same as that charged in neighbouring grinding mills or
they are higher or lower?
7. Do you face competition from nearby mills?
8. Is the competition to your advantage or disadvantage?
9. What are some of the major challenges you face in operating the mill?

Questions for entrepreneurs/ women’s groups running the mill

1. What prompted you to participate in the Multifunctional Platform
Programme?
2. Has the platform alleviated the suffering of women in your community?
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3. Is running the platform a profitable venture?
4. What are some of the challenges you face in running the platform?

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