PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Location and Size
West Mamprusi District is one of the Twenty (20) Administrative Districts in the Northern Region of Ghana. Walewale is the District capital harboring 12% of the District’s population.
The district is located roughly within longitudes 0°35’W and 1°45’W and Latitude 9°55’N and 10°35’N. It has a total land area of 5,013 km² and shares boundaries with eleven districts and two regions. It shares boundaries with East Mamprusi, Gushegu, Districts to the East, West Gonja, Tolon/Kumbungu Savelugu/Nanton, and Karaga, districts to the south, Builsa, Kassena-Nankana and Talensi/Nabdam districts (Upper East Region) to the north and Sissala and Wa East district (Upper West Region) to the West. (Ref. Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 below) Administratively the district lies within the Northern Region, although it has strong economic and functional linkages with some major settlements in the Upper East Region like Bolgatanga and Fumbisi.
Geology and Geographical Formation
The District has a generally undulating terrain characterised by gentle slopes from north-east to south-west. There are however, a few isolated visible outcrops and uplands of not more than 10% slope. Isolated hills, which break the monotony of the landscape, can be found around Karimenga, Shelinvoya and the outskirts of Wulugu.
Geological Formation
The Geological formation in the West Mamprusi District is underlain mainly by the Middle Lower Voltaian, which comprises of sandstone, arkose, mudstone and shale. The western part of the district is underlain by the lower Voltaian formation consisting of sandstones and grit. The northern tip is underlain by the Birimian rock formations. Birimian rocks are metamorphosed lavas, which ply Units, schists, tufts and greywacke. Regarding the middle Voltaian, the depth and degree of weathering depends on the lithology. Annex 1 is the District Geological map.
Geological Formation and its Suitability for Ground Water
In West Mamprusi, most of the successful boreholes are not deeper than 60m. This indicates that the favourable fractured zones are within the first 60m of drilling. If no water is encountered when the first 40 to 60m is excavated then the chances of finding water inflows in deeper layers are not great. The water level in this district is usually very low.
The geological formation is very important in determining the amount of underground water. From available data, success rate of boreholes in the district is about 50%. The yield is low but sufficient for hand-pump installation.
Hand-dug wells have been found to be the most preferred option. The average depth of hand-dug wells is 15 metres. There is a 90% success rate for hand-dug wells in the district.
Soils and their sustainability for Agriculture
Soils of alluvial origin (savannah glycols) can be found in the major river valleys and drainage courses; these are predominantly in the west of the district along the basins of the White Volta and its tributaries. These soils are deep; fine textured and is well suited for the cultivation of a wide range of crops. The depth of these soils also allows for the use of bullocks and other forms of mechanised farming.
In spite of their potentials, soils in this category remain under-utilized due to drainage and flood control problems. On the flat to gentle upland slopes of the eastern parts of the district are found the moderately well drained upland soils developed mainly from Voltaian sandstones. These soils are characterised by deep loamy soils of sand with good water retention capabilities described as moderately well drained.
Their development potential is in the fact that they are well suited for a wide range of crops; although good farming practices especially soil conservation is imperative. These soils are prone to sheet and gully erosion especially under cultivation. If organic materials are not applied regularly to these soils, heavy nutrient leaching will occur.
CLIMATE AND RAINFALL PATTERN
The district is characterised by a single rainy season, which starts in late April with little rainfall, rising to its peak in July-August and declining sharply and coming to a complete halt in October-November.
The area experiences occasional storms, which have implications for base soil erosion depending on its frequency and intensity especially when they occur at the end of the dry season. Mean annual rainfall ranges between 950 mm - 1,200 mm.
The dry season is characterised by Hamattan winds. These winds, which blow across the Sahara desert, are warm and dry causing significantly daily temperatures and causing the soil to lose moisture rapidly. Maximum day temperatures are recorded between March-April of about 45°C while minimum night temperatures of about 12°C have been recorded in December-January.
The humidity levels between April and October can be as high as 95% in the night falling to 70% in the day. Night humidity for the rest of the years ranges between 80% and 25%.
DRAINAGE AND VEGETATION
Drainage
The district is drained by the White Volta and its tributaries the Sissili and the Kulpawn rivers. Flooding by the White Volta is an annual problem caused mainly by the numerous small rivers, which flow into it especially below Pwalugu. Occasional flash floods have also been caused by spilling of waters from streams further up stream in Burkina Faso as happened in the rainy season of 1995.
The prevailing rainfall and the nature of the underlying rock formations determines to a large extent the ground and surface water potential for the district. The present combination of heavy run-off, high evaporation and transpiration and low infiltration rates to recharge aquifers in some areas in the district, contribute to water deficiencies especially to the west of the White Volta, the south around Fio area and eastern parts around Shelinvoya.
Vegetation
The natural vegetation of the district is classified as Guinea Savannah Woodland, composed of short trees of varying sizes and density, growing over a dispersed cover of perennial grasses and shrubs. The climatic conditions, relief features and soil texture which foster water logged conditions (especially in the area west of the White Volta) in the rainy season and draughty soils in the dry season tend to develop a characteristically hardy tree vegetation adapted to long periods of dry spells. Vegetation and Landuse maps are indicated in the next page.
The existence of dense woodlands and forests along river valley (especially areas along the basin of the White Volta and its tributaries) is gradually beginning to change due to the influx of people into these areas as a result of the successful control of river borne diseases (e.g. Onchocerciasis). The vegetation is also annually affected by bush fires, which sweep across the savannah woodland each year. A map showing vegetative zones is shown below in Fig. 1.5.
LAND USE
The district is predominantly rural with more than 75% of the population living in rural settlements with populations less than 2000. Communities with populations between 500 and 300 number 54. Urbanisation is not a pressing problem in the district except possibly in Walewale, which is the dominant urban centre-enjoying most of the facilities.
The principal land uses reflect the almost total rural base of the district economy. About 77.4% of the people depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Large amounts of land are therefore put to the cultivation of major crops like maize, millet, guinea corn, groundnuts and cotton. Important minor crops cultivated include legumes, cassava and yams. There are a lot of good lands for tree crops and large scale mechanised Agriculture.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
According to the 1984 population census, the West Mamprusi District recorded a population of 79,130. The District’s population in the 2000 population and housing census put the figure at 115025. The estimated population in 2005 was however, fixed at 131,650. (Population projected from 2000 PHC). Out of this 49.7% are males and 50.13% are females. The urban population in the District is 18%. (Source: 2000PHC). The District annual growth rate of population has been 2.4%.
Table1: Age Distribution of the population of West Mamprusi District by sex. Source: 2000 PHC.
The District has an average household size of eight (8) with a dependency ratio of 112.0. The district thus, has a population density of about 24 person/km² compared to 16 in 1984. The population growth pattern has shown an increase of 100% between 1970 and 1984, 75% between 1984 and 2001 as depicted in Fig. 3 The population is concentrated in and around Walewale the District capital of within 10 to 15km radius. There are other pockets of relative concentration in and around Janga in the Southern part of the District, in and around Yagaba-Kubori and Yizesi areas to the Western Half of the District. The last area of relative concentration is Kpasenkpe-Duu area. The rest are either very sparsely concentrated or unsettled at all. There is therefore a very vast land of unoccupied land mass in the District.
The district is predominantly a rural one, with majority of the population living in rural areas. It is interesting to note that only five (5) settlements have a population from 5,000 and above. Sixteen (16) settlements were found to be in the range of 2,000 to 5,000 in 1997 but this number has increased to 23 in 1999. The District capital, Walewale, alone accounts for 12% of the district’s population.
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS
There are quite a number of Non Governmental Organisations in the West Mamprusi District. These are in to the areas of building the District Economy, provision of basic services, and undertake programme to protect the vulnerable. Others are into good governance and in all they have all created employment for the people. The NGOs and their respective areas of intervention are as tabulated below.
Non-Governmental Organisations, Agencies & Community Based Organizations Operating in the District
NAME OF ORGANISATION LOCATION SECTOR/AREA OF OPERATION
Neighbour-in-Need Foundation Walewale Water and Sanitation
Northern Empowerment Association Janga Water and sanitation
Chera Biisi Fari Chera Water and Sanitation, Food Security
World Vision International Walewale/Yagaba Water and Sanitation, Micro
(Overseas ADP) (Overseas) credit financing, Education
Planned Parenthood Association Walewale/Kparigu Family Reproductive Health, of Ghana Micro credit
Integrated Social Development Walewale/Yagaba Basic Education
Centre
Catholic Relief Services Walewale Basic Education
Fellowship of Associates of Janga Health, Farming and food security
Medical Evangelism
Action Aid Ghana Loagri No.1/Yizesi Education
New Energy Walewale Water and sanitation, Environment,
Micro credit
Catholic Family Health Walewale, Wulugu & Tinguri Health
Project
Rural Information & Walewale Research, Micro credit, Good
research Centre (RURIC) Governance advocacy
Alternative initiatives Walewale Water and Sanitation, Micro credit
For Development (AID)
Orphanage Foundation Wulugu Care for orphans
Mission
PROCESS Wulugu & OLthers Environment issues
AGENCIES
NORPREP Wungu & Yizesi Area Councils Socio-economic infrastructure
& Capacity Building
CBRDP District wide Socio-economic infrastructure &
Capacity Building
LSDGP – DANIDA Districtwide Roads and Capacity building
UNDA – DRYLANDS Mishio, Yama, Zuah & Bulbia Environmental rehabilitation
and alternative livelihoods.
REP II Districtwide Capacity building in
livelihood activities
DWAP – CIDA Districtwide Infrastructural Provision
Source: District Planning and Coordinating Unit – 2008
CULTURE AND ETHNICITY
The Mamprusis are the major ethnic group in the district who co-exist peacefully with other minor ethnic groupings including the Frafras, Kassinas, Bimobas, Fulanis, and the Ewes. The ewes are mainly settler fishermen who have settled along the major rivers especially the White Volta – to engage in fishing. The Fulanis are also settled in the area and are herdsmen for the indigenous people.
A typical social hierarchy in a Mamprusi Community is shown below consisting of the CHIEF, the WUDANA who is the linguist in the village and leader of the elders; the KPANADANA (the elders of the Community and advisors to the chief), the TINDANA (in charge of the Gods in the Community/ Fetish priest), the KANBONNABA (the Chief Warrior), the NACHINAA (the Youth Leader), the MANGAZIA (the Women’s Leader), the FONGU KPAMMA (the Sectional Heads).
There are four main paramouncies in the District all answerable to the King of Mamprugu – the Nayiri. These include the Wulugu Traditional Area (headquarters at Kpasenkpe), Soo Traditional Area (headquarters at Janga), Wungu Traditional Area (headquarters at Wungu) and Kurugu Traditional Area (headquarters at Kurugu). There are also a number of divisional chief under these major chiefs.
The predominant ethnic group is the Mole Dagbani group (Mamprusis and Dagombas). These constitute 33.6% of the population of the District. Other ethnic groups include the Akan 11.1%, the Dangme 0.2%, Ewe 0.2%, Guans 0.8% and other smaller groups constitute 8.6%.
Religiously, majority of the population are Moslems 66.7%. Traditional Worshipers constitute 16.3%, Christians are 14.4% whereas the remaining 2.6% is made up of other religious practitioners.
The main festivals of this area are the bugum and damma festivals celebrated by the chiefs and people of the place. Being a predominant Moslem District, the people also celibate the two festivals of Eid-ul Fitir and Eid-ul Adha.
The people have a high spirit of local participation especially when there are full consultations on issues of development. They are also naturally friendly to anybody either a citizen or a stranger. This accounts for the comparative peaceful coexistence of the people.
THE TRADITIONAL HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE IN A TYPICAL MAMPRUGU COMMUNITY
CHIEF
WUDANA
KPANADANA
TINDANA
KANBONNA
NACHINAA
MANGAZIA
FONGU KPAMMA BIISI
DISTRICT ECONOMY
REVENUE PERFORMANCERevenue performance in the District currently is not too good though targets have always been met. The District over the period under review met its revenue targets ranging from 95% to 110%.
However, in real terms, revenue performance has not been substantial. The District Assembly has to do something seriously about this to step up its revenue base so as to increase the quantum of revenue in absolute terms. The main sources of revenue over the years have been property rates, rents, licenses, market tolls, cattle rates and fees. Against this lean revenue performance is a huge expenditure obligation. The main items of expenditure for the district comprise personal emoluments, traveling and transport, general expenditure (stationery, printing, electricity charges, telephone bills), repairs/maintenance, miscellaneous (Assembly members allowances, demarcation of plots etc.) and capital expenditure.
Revenue from Common Fund is directed into various sectors including health, education, local government, youth employment, rural housing and disaster management.
AGRICULTURE
The economic base of the West Mamprusi District is agriculture with an average 80% of the economically active population engaged in one form or other of it. Agricultural activities in the district include crop production, livestock and fisheries. Only 54.7% of the 80% however farm as a major activity.
Agriculture is basically on a subsistence level with smallholder farmers representing the main users of agricultural land. The average farm sizes vary from 0.5 ha to 2.4 ha.
The predominant type of farm labour is from the immediate family (man, wife or wives and children) a factor that may account for the love of large families as was explained under the population profile of the district. There are however periods where farm labour is hired to supplement family labour. Because children in the family, especially those above 15 years are intensively used, there is an unacceptably low enrolment of children in primary and junior secondary school as captured under the current status of education in the district.
The major crops farmed in the district are sorghum, groundnut, millet, beans, maize and rice. Cash crops in this district are rice, cotton, tobacco, vegetables and cashew.
Crop production in the district is on a subsistence basis whereby small farm holder farmers produce for family upkeep and occasional sale. There are however, a number of commercial farmers. The major crops grown in the district are maize, millet, rice groundnuts, beans, sorghum, Bambara beans and yams. These crops are grown during the rainy season. The total acreages cultivated and average yields for these crops are indicated in the table. Dry season farming is done along the banks of the White Volta. Crops cultivated include leafy vegetables, tomatoes, onions, soybeans, pepper and tobacco.
The potential of dry season farming is limited by inadequate water-retaining structures including dams and dugouts.
Major cash crops grown in the district are groundnuts, rice tobacco and cotton. Vegetables grown include pepper, tomatoes and onions and this is done along the banks of the White Volta.
There are large tracts of fertile land in the Yizesi; Kunkua, Katigri and Soo valleys, which could be utilized for large-scale, rice production. The soil conditions in this area are rich and loamy and have a very high water holding capacity. These conditions are very conducive for commercial rice production.
TOTAL CROP AREAS AND OUTPUT
CROP AREA (HECTARES) OUTPUT (METRIC TONES)
Maize 19,798 35,735
Millet 14,924 28,953
Rice 5,890 14,283
Sorghum 15,934 30,275
Groundnut 16,522 15,531
Beans 2,417 2,248
Yam 5,027 14,779
The main tree crops indicated in field discussions are Sheanut and Dawadawa (both harvested from the wild) and small plantings of cashew. To promote the production of cashew, the District Assembly has established a 10-hectare cashew plantation on the outskirts of Walewale.
Food price inflation
Inflation in terms of food prices have been on the decline over the past three years. This is because of continuous surpluses that have been recorded over the period. The trend changes are depicted by table 4.
COMMODITY
Maize
Millet
Sorghum
Rice Imported
Rice Local
Cassava
Ground nuts
Cowpea
Tomatoes
UNIT OF SALE
100kg
93kg
109kg
50kg
100kg
91kg
82kg
109kg
52kg (crate)
2003
2002 ¢
2003 ¢
% Diff
89,000
110,000
12
89,000
150,000
68
90,000
120,000
33.3
200,000
-
-
347,000
380,000
10
83,000
92,000
10
295,000
370,000
25
206,000
410,000
99
200,000
180,000
-10
2004
2003 ¢
2004 ¢
% Diff
110,000
200,000
81
150,000
263,000
76
120,000
220,00
83
-
-
-
380,000
580,000
53
92,000
100,000
9
370,000
353,000
-5
410,000
327,000
-20
180,000
300,000
66
2005
2004 ¢
2005 ¢
% Diff
200,000
230,000
15
263,000
375,000
7
220,000
360,000
64
160,000
350,000
119
580,000
530,000
-9
100,000
88,000
-12
353,000
505,000
43
325,000
340,000
4
300,000
250,000
-17. Source: MOFA 2005.
The food price inflation in the District was 27.5% in 2003, this figure increased to 38.1% in 2004 and declined to 23.8% in 2005. The increase in increase in 2004 was due to weather failure which reduced output drastically.
LAND TENURE AND DEVELOPMENT.
Land in Walewale is owned by individual families whose control rest in the family head as the sole custodian. These lands belong to the Mamprugu skin and the divisional chief of the town acts as the resident trustee on behalf of the ‘Nayiri’. Title to lands is derived from the allodia superior title. Lesser interests are derived from this and one unique thing about this tenurial arrangement is that, ownership becomes perpetual after acquisition for housing purposes. Though still under the legal ownership of the skin, once the proper procedure of land acquisition for housing development is complete, the interest on land perpetuates. This however, does not apply to agricultural lands. Here, no agricultural lands are sold, hired or leased for, at least, peasant farming. All that is required is to approach the landowner with “kola money” and a plot is offered.
This system of ownership of land is friendly to all kinds of land development - either for residential purpose or otherwise.
Despite the relaxed system of landownership, no stranger wishing to acquire land for any purpose in an area and Walewale for that matter, should under-rate the possible dangers. He should endeavour to contact the chief or a leading figurehead of the place for guidance. A lapse in this direction could jeopardize the intended development. Though the tenurial arrangement is conducive for any large-scale land development, it will do one a lot of good to investigate the title to land.
FARMING PRACTICES IN THE DISTRICT
Observations from the field survey indicate that the method of farming is basically traditional using hoes and cutlasses. Food production in some cases is mechanized with the use of animal traction and few tractors. The traditional methods of farming are often associated with poor yields. The yield from the land under cultivation shows that in almost all cases except for groundnuts, the yield is half of that expected.
CURRENT & RECOMMENDED FARMING PRACTICES
NO. CROP
1.Maize
2.Rice
3.Millet
4.Sorghum
5.Groundnut
CURRENT PRACTICE
Mixed Cropping
Sole Cropping
mixed Cropping
mixed Cropping
mixed Cropping
RECOMMENDED PRACTICES
Sole Cropping/Rotation with Legumes.
Sole Cropping
Sole Cropping/Rotation with Legumes.
Sole Cropping/Rotation with Legumes.
Sole Cropping/Rotation with Cereals
CURRENT OUTPUT
3-5 bags
4-8 bags
2-3 bags
2-3 bags
4-6 bags
EXPECTED OUTPUT
8 bags
14 bags
5 bags
5 bags
8 bags :Source: From MOFA
The situation looks frustrating to farmers and a lot of people tend to rather shift to other occupation to supplement their earnings. Farming is therefore no more attractive to some people especially the youth. The industry needs some amount of innovation to restore it as a paying job to the people.
Wildlife and Wildlife Management
The District can boast of some wildlife reserves though human activities have led to the depletion of wild life. There are Hippo traces in the Zanwara area, crocodiles in Walewale and other communities, antelopes and several families of monkeys across the District. West Mamprusi has part of it falling within the Mole Game reserves. As such large land has been protected by the game reserve for the purposes of ensuring good management and sustainability of the wildlife population. The District is making efforts to control wildfire and to introduce alternative livelihood activities to control exploitation of these wild animals. The district currently welcomes any partners that will support sustainable management and extraction of the wildlife resources to support the livelihood of the people.
Primary Processing
Primary Processing of agricultural produce is done in the district though not on a large scale. Mostly it simply involves transforming farm produce into another form for local consumption. Sheanut processing for exports is however picking up in the district. Some of the processed produce is groundnut oil, parboiled rice, Shea butter, smoked fish and Dawadawa spice.
Storage Facilities
The local barn constitutes the most common storage facility in the district. The barns are constructed with grass-thatched roofs supported with wooden structures. Field survey indicates over 70% of farmers storing their harvest in the traditional barn. A lot of the communities visited have pointed out modern storage facilities as measures of controlling post harvest losses.
The use of use of jute bags for storing maize, rice, guinea corn, millet, groundnuts and beans is also widespread. Others use poly ACs. These produce are bagged after they have been thoroughly dried.
Survey results indicate that the use of pesticides and insecticides for storage of produce is gaining much attention now. The need for education on the proper use of chemical for storage is necessary to avoid food poisoning.
A marketing analysis carried out revealed that about 50% of processed products were marketed within the settlements where production occurred. The district has seven (7) markets, the largest being the Walewale market followed by the Bulbia market.
Livestock Farming:
The flat grassland vegetation of the area facilitates the rearing of livestock and poultry in the district. Animals reared include cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, local birds and domesticated guinea fowl. The cattle population mainly consists of the small West African shorthorn breed and the rest being the Zebu type with few Sennas and N’damas. The sheep and goats are mainly the West African Dwarf breeds. The Directorate of Agriculture has begun the promotion of new breeds of guinea fowls. The Wulugu Livestock Company has started ostrich farming.
Field information revealed that about 60% of adults in the rural communities own at least one cow, 80% own at least a goat or sheep and 90-100% own fowls.
All livestock are maintained on free range with isolated cases of supplementary feeding in the form of household waste or spoiled grain. The people in the district see the breeding of livestock as a viable investment. In addition, livestock is kept for religious reasons or as a source of animal protein.
The common disease affecting livestock in the district includes tick, worm infections, diarrhea, black leg, foot and mouth disease, pneumonia, ascariasis, anthrax and helminthiasis.
Dams
There are only eleven dams and dugouts in the West Mamprusi District located mostly to the Eastern part of the District in the communities as named in the table below. These are in a very bad state and require rehabilitation.
LOCATION
Gbimsi
Diani
Nayorku
Zangu-vuga
Gbani
Nabari
Wulugu
Nasia
Wungu
Zangum
DESCRIPTION (DAMS/DUGOUT)
Dam/Dam with pumpDam
Dam
Dugout
Dam
Dugout
Dugout
Dam
Dugout
Dugout
CONDITION
Silted up and require rehabilitation
Silted up and require rehabilitation
Silted up and require rehabilitation
Silted up and require rehabilitation
Silted up and require rehabilitation
Silted up and require rehabilitation
Silted up and require rehabilitation
In good condition
Silted up and require rehabilitation
Silted up and require rehabilitation
Source: From MOFA 2006
The scanty and poor state of the few water bodies in the district does not provide any incentive for dry season farming and in view of the fact that the area is a major cattle-raising area, there are serious economic consequences requiring swift and urgent action to save the situation.
Irrigation facilities
Though predominantly an Agricultural District, the West Mamprusi District lacks irrigation infrastructure to support dry season farming. With one single rainfall regime, the situation food production is worsened during years of bad weather condition. The District though possesses large sites where large scale irrigation facilities can be established, the people are left to their own faith. The only irrigation facility the District can boast of is a small under-developed irrigation facility at Nasia.
The situation has compelled a lot of farmers who cannot migrate to use the river banks in a rather dangerous way degrading the water and vegetative resources. A lot of the youth have in effect migrated from the District to the forest region of the country to engage the same Agricultural activities in environments where they do not control the land. The plea of the people is to get well established irrigation faculties to open employment opportunities for the people and to expand food production.
Problems of Agricultural Production
A.Unreliable rainfall in terms of duration, timing and amount
B.Declining soil fertility especially in the eastern portion of the district.
C.High cost of inputs and spares.
D.Continuous use of old implements for farming.
E.Perennial bush fires.
F.In adequate supply of agricultural machinery and equipment
G.Insufficient market structure.
H.Unstable prices for agricultural produce.
I.Poor road infrastructure, e.g., poor road network.
J.Weak institutional support for farmers, e.g. credit
K.Lack of small irrigational dams to ensure all year farming.
L.High post harvest losses.
M.High rural – urban labour exodus.
N.Poor agricultural programme coverage and inadequate extension services limiting the dissemination of information relating to productivity increase.
Measures to address situation:
The economic development of the district is largely dependent on agriculture. There should therefore be serious and sustained moves to promote agricultural development in the district. Means of improving the situation include the following.
1. Investment is needed in adequate land preparation to add value to the abundant land in the district for increased agricultural production. This should include:
Judicious and strategic land clearing for crop production;
Contour binding
Efficient management of the drainage system;
Planning of infiltration bands of grass;
Settlement erosion control;
Composting and its application;
Use of farmyard manure;
Green maturing and short fallows using cover crops;
Construction of stoniness on steeper slopes; and
Integration of livestock into the farming system, by making use of crop residues for feed, to help reduce pressure on grazing resources and vegetative cover.
The introduction of a block farming system will increase the acquisition and utilization of a large size of farmland by private small-scale farmers from nearby villages for the production of specific crops. This system will allow the maintenance of privately owned and managed small framings while permitting the farmer to benefit from cost-effective mechanized another allied services associated with large scale scientific farming.
2. Extensive research activity leading to the identification of seed varieties suitable for the ecological and agro-climatic conditions.
3. Provision of agricultural machinery and equipment such as animal bullocks, tractors, combine harvesters, spraying machines another inputs such as fertilizers and agro-chemicals.
4. Animal traction is an environmentally friendly technique, which economizes on land. The district should seriously promote this system through bullocks, and donkeys for land preparation and transport. Other allies services include; adoption of existing manufacturers (local blacksmiths etc) in promoting animal traction;
Provision of after-sale services;
Upgrading skills of local artisans; and
Rearing and dressing of donkeys and bullocks;
5. Encourage farmers to apply farmyard manure and undertake compost making and inorganic fertilizer.
6 Adoption and implementation of afforestation activities including the following;
* Establishment of Community tree nurseries;
* Planting of woodlots; and
* Cultivation of plantations (cashews, mango etc)
7. Implementation of bush fire control activities
Enactment
Micro-Scale Industrial Activities
Even though the district is a predominantly agrarian economy, there is an amount of micro-scale industrial activities, which people engage in so as to aid and promote their general life status.
Gender in micro-industry
These activities are concentrated in shea-butter and groundnut oil extraction. This industry in the district is predominantly female. Their male counterparts tend to be in bicycle repair and blacksmithing. There a rising implement manufacturing in the District concentrated in the District capital.
Lack of registration
Majority of these businesses were however found not to have been registered. With the inception of the Rural Enterprises project in the District a lot of these business enterprises have now been organised, registered and have opened bank account and further received training. Several have been assigned to the past situation. The two major reasons were first that they, the entrepreneurs had not had adequate profits so they felt the need not to register their businesses and secondly that they were simply ignorant about registering their businesses. Perhaps one serious and persisting reason is that credit is difficult to come by.
Source of Start-Up Capital
Generally all entrepreneurs provide their own initial investment capital. Majority of nearly 70% of respondents interviewed in October 2000 indicated that the initial investment capital for their business came from their own resources. Another 23% said they raised their initial capital from friends or relatives whilst others depend on moneylenders. Only a negligible number of entrepreneurs obtained any credit from any kind of formal financial institution.
Mode of Production
Indications are that most entrepreneurs depend solely on the primitive mode of production. Subsequently it became clear that as many as 94.7% of businesses were run manually whereas a very small percentage of 5.3 use machines.
Problems faced in micro-industry
The major problem identified if first that of inadequate finance in starting up and sustaining their businesses, secondly in the seasonality of raw materials for their industry. Finally the inaccessibility of roads in the district also turned out to be a major problem.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
The district has one Community Bank, which was opened in 1994. The bank has injected an amount of capital into private and public business ventures, including water supply and sanitation development. There are also some Susu operators in the district.
Access to Credit
The district being predominantly, a farming one the main source of finance may be through credit facilities but access to this is also very discouraging since only 30% of people who seek for credit hardly get access to it.
The problem is with security for the loans and the interest rates. With some people also taking loans and refusing to pay back they get sacred to go back asking for loans. The practice has also limited their chances to all kinds of loans passing through the Community bank.
TRANSPORTATION AND ROAD NETWORK
The total road network of the district is made up of primary, secondary and feeder roads. The district is served by about a total of 476.3Km of roads made up of 116km of trunk roads and 360km of feeder roads. The Ghana Highways Authority manages 116.3km of roads of which 19km is paved and the remaining 97.3km gravelled.
The total length of feeder roads in the district is about 360km, made up of 211km of which needs re-gravelling whilst others need major construction to ensure all year round use.
The district has a road density of about 0.0950 / km2 and is relatively one of the lowest in the country. It is important to indicate that road accessibility in the district is very poor and this has had a ripple effect on the provision of other social and economic services.
The busiest route in the district is the Tamale-Bolgatanga trunk road. The road that is asphalted passes through Walewale, the district capital and other communities including Nasia, Gbimsi and Wulugu. The Nasia-Janga road has been rehabilitated and the Wulugu-Kpasenkpe route reconstructed.
Feeder roads leading to major food-producing areas including Kparigu and Yizesi are in various stages of disrepair. The roads are in very bad condition and are virtually inaccessible during the rainy season. During this period, a number of settlements in the ‘Overseas” area are cut off from the rest of the district including the district capital due to the over flooding of the rivers in the area west of the White Volta. This area is moderately accessible for more than half of the year through Bolgatanga (Bolgatanga District, Navrongo (Kassena-Nankana district) and Sandema and Fumbisi in the Builsa District. The journey covers about 155km and this could be shortened considerably to about 45km through a direct link with Walewale.
The development of a sound road network in the ‘overseas’ area is lacking. Consequently produce from the area is marketed at Fumbisi in the Builsa District.
The major means of transportation in the district are the use of bicycles and footing. Other means include the donkey with cart and motorbikes.
The major problem facing the road sector is to create a bridge linking up the district capital Walewale to the overseas area. (Please refer to the road chart, which shows the road network in the district and the condition in which the roads are).
POST AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
1Postal Services
The district has a newly constructed post office located at Walewale, the capital. There are no postal agencies thereby making accessibility to postal services by most communities very remote. The provision of postal agencies in larger settlements in the district will facilitate communication.
2Telecommunication Services
The Automatic Telephone Dial ling System serves the district and has a telephone exchange (0715) located at Walewale. Ghana Telecom has provided a number of handsets for offices, homes and other institutions. In addition, there are a few telephone booths located at certain strategic areas in the district capital. Services from these booths are accessed through the use of prepaid cards. There is also Onetouch and Areeba cell phone services in some parts of the District.
DOMINANT ENERGY USED
Sources of energy used in lighting, cooking etc. and their percentage of usage are shown in Table 8 below.
ENERGY SOURCES AND USE
ENERGY SOURCE
Firewood
Kerosene
Charcoal
Electricity/Gas
PERCENTAGE USE
41.9%
34.9%
18.6%
4.6%
AVERAGE DISTANCE (ACCESSIBILITY)
2.7 Miles
3.1 Miles
8.7 Miles
-
Source: Socio-Economic Survey in 20 communities west of the White Volta.
The table shows that majority of households use firewood as an energy source. Put together, firewood and charcoal is used by 60.5% of all households. This puts a severe strain on the depleting tree cover in the district. The most affected communities are Wulugu and Nabari.
DISTRICT TOURISM POTENTIAL
The district can boast of unique tourist sites like, the Mysterious Golinga Springs, the Hippo Ponds at Zanwara, Terra Cotta Figurines at Yikpabongu the Buyuori Caves, and local architecture especially a traditional mosque at Wulugu amongst others.
Infrastructural amenities e.g. Water, Transport networks, telecomm, electricity are however poorly developed in the district. While the main highway linking Walewale, the District Capital to Tamale and Bolgatanga is excellent, virtually all roads linking other towns, villages and potential tourist attractions are of very poor quality and not motorable during the rainy season. The telephone service within Walewale the district capital is fairly reliable, but limited to the district capital for the moment.
Cuisine is indigenous and generally of good quality in the chop bars but the environment is not particularly clean or attractive. The staff in the ‘’hotel’ and ‘restaurants’ are not particularly well trained for the tourism industry. There is virtually no market for handicrafts and local textile, a vital aspect of the tourist industry.
The district has important tourism related socio-cultural resources these include:
* A warm welcome extended to visitors
* Annual cultural festivals, Damba, bugum etc.
* Stability and social harmony
* Largely unadulterated cultural heritage, particularly in the rural areas.
The objective of the district includes a focus on developing the attractions mentioned and special interest areas such as nature and cultural tourism. There is the need to link tourism development to the preservation of the environment as the basis for sustainable and social cost of effective tourism development.
ENVIRONMENT
Due to the heavy demand on the vegetation for domestic energy use, there has been deterioration in the vegetation. Coupled with this is the rampant bush burning as well as poor farming practices, which are all steadily deteriorating the environment.
Natural Disasters
The District is prone to disasters mostly natural in nature but probable started by man. Some of these include floods, wildfire, wind disasters, CSM attacks and pest infestation of farmlands. These disasters are seasonal in nature and of different intensities varying from year to year. The past situations called for a disaster preparedness plan for the Assembly formulated by various stakeholders with support from Action Aid Ghana.
STRUCTURE OF THE DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
The structure of the District Assembly corresponds with the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Local Government and rural Development. Under the Assembly is the Executive Committee. Below the Executive Committee is the Office of the District Chief Executive. All executive functions of the Assembly are performed through the various sub-committees, which come immediately after the office of the District Chief Executive. The District Co-ordinating Director is in charge of overall administration of the District and is assisted by the Deputy Co-ordinating Director in charge of internal administration and responsible for the District Budget and Treasury as well as the Development Planning Officer who is responsible for development activities in the district. Beneath the structure are the decentralized departments and other agencies in the District. (Annex 2)
* Manpower
The staff position of the Assembly, excluding the decentralized departments, stands at sixty –seven (67) instead of the quota of seventy-eight.
*Logistics and Equipment
The equipment base of the assembly is rather low. The Assembly has a facsimile machine to facilitate fast communication with others. But no E-mail services, in addition, a number of equipment is either non-existent or unserviceable.
*Integration of Departments and Units of the Assembly
All decentralized departments are in place except the Department of Feeder Roads. The Assembly has made serious effort to bring the concept of decentralization into reality. It has spent funds for the construction of town and area council’s offices and has even gone ahead to furnish them by the last quarter of 2002.
There have, however, been problems with integration notably allegiance and authority structure, office and residential accommodation. Availability of Staff for DPCU
Though the DPCU is supposed to be made up of at least three officers, there are virtually only two personnel in the office. The volume of work on the officers is rather monumental since apart from direct District Assembly projects there are several other donor-supported projects like EU Micro projects, Village Infrastructure Project, which are very intensive in orientation.
VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS
SOCIAL WELFARE
The Department of Social Welfare, which is charged with, the responsibility of handling issues related to the vulnerable and excluded segments of the society, is structured into three areas. These are: Justice and Administration, Community Care and Child Rights and protection. To do its work effectively, the department in the West Mamprusi District undertook a registration of the various categories of persons with disabilities. A total of 257 persons have so far been registered. The details are as indicated in the table below.
Disabilities by Sex
MAJOR IDENTIFIED DISABILITIES (BY SEX)
TYPE OF DISABILITY
Sight Impairment
Hearing/Speaking
Movement
Feeling
Strange Behaviour
Fits
Learning Difficulty
Others
Total
MALE
30
25
50
10
8
16
-
-
139
FEMALE
35
8
48
9
6
12
-
-
118
TOTAL
65
33
98
19
14
28
-
-
257 Source: Department of Social Welfare- WMDA.
The causes of these disabilities were revealed as: congenital factors, diseases, accidents and injuries. Others were poor living and working conditions and old age.
The Community Based Rehabilitation Programme
This was introduced in 1994 to help see to the needs of the growing disabled population in the District. The programme aims at empowering the communities to take care of the disabled within the communities they hail.
The programme was piloted in four communities. These were Wungu, Tinguri, Wulugu and Loagri/Kunkwa. 308 persons benefited from the pilot programme.
In the year 2001, an NGO called Action On Disability and Development entered the District and have organised a series of workshops intended to build the capacity of disabled persons to handle their own destiny. The organisation introduced a credit scheme for the disabled in the district. This was intended to be a revolving fund to be disbursed among the disabled association in the West Mamprusi District.
SOCIAL SERVICES
HEALTH AND NUTRITIONCoverage of health services in the district is generally very low as available facilities are woefully inadequate. The highest level of health delivery system in the District is the Walewale Hospital. There are four (4) other Health Centres and some clinics located in the district some of which are not functional. Health personnel in the district as at October 2000 are one (1) doctor, two (2) doctors from the Cuban Medical Brigade, 22 nurses, 17 midwives and 39 para-medical staff. In terms doctor patient ratio the district records 1:117,821 as against the national standard of 1:20,000, 1:5124 is the ratio for nurses/patient and 1:6933 for midwives. The distribution of health facilities is presented in Table 9.
Distribution of Health Facilities
FACILITYDistrict Hospital
Janga Health Centre
Kubori Health Centre
Kpasenkpe Health Centre
Yikpabongu Health Centre
Kparigu Clinic
Loagri Clinic
Yagaba Clinic
Nutrition Centre
CHPS Compound
Nutrition Centre
Nutrition Centre
Nasia CHPS Compound
Yizesi Clinic
Kunkua CPHS Compound
Gbeo CHPS Compound
LOCATION
Walewale
Janga
Kubori
Kpasenkpe
Yikpabongu
Kparigu
Loagri
Yagaba
Walewale
Yama
Tinguri
Wulugu
Nasia
Yizesi
Kunkua No.1
Gbeo
OWNERSHIP
Public
Public
Public
Public
Public
Private, Owned by PPAG
Private, FAME
Public
Private, Catholic Family Health Project
Public
Private, Catholic Family Health Project
Private, Catholic Family Health Project
Public
Private, FAME
Public
Public
REMARKS
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning00
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning
Functioning
Not Functioning
Not Functioning Source: Directorate of Health-West Mamprusi District 2005
In spite of the existence of the above facilities, people in the district have serious problems with access to health services. This is due to the poor physical conditions of the roads in most parts of the district. This phenomenon has accounted significantly for the limited health facilities in the district.
Serious cases from the health facilities are either referred to the Fumbisi Health Centre in the Builsa District, the Bolgatanga Central Hospital, or the Baptist Medical Centre at Nalerigu, all in the Upper East Region.
Human Resources Status of West Mamprusi Health Directorate
The current staff strength of the health workers in general in the West Mamprusi District stands at 98. Of this number, there is only one medical officer instead of five. However, there are two Cuban doctors supporting. There are 32 nurses out of a requirement of 69 and 14 Community health nurses. Midwives are 8 with 3 pharmacy technicians. There are also 3 medical assistants and 10 health care assistants. There is therefore a very wide shortage of health workers to take care of the facilities available.
Complimenting the above are activities of 43 TBAs (Traditional Birth Attendants) and
134 Community Based Volunteers trained to provide basic health functions. All Communities have at least one village volunteer who report unusual health events like death and diseases to the disease surveillance unit of the Ministry of Health. Traditional Birth Attendants and Guinea Worm Volunteers complement the efforts of the other health personnel.
Bed capacity in the Walewale District Hospital as at year 2000 was 19 but improved to 36 in 2001.
Major Diseases
The major health problems have been malaria, upper respiratory tract infections and diarrhea. Cerebro-spinal Meningitis (CSM) is a disease that has claimed many lives within the past few years. CSM is seasonal and usually appears in an epidemic form. Diarrhoeal and malarial diseases can be curtailed through better water supply and hygienic practices. The top ten major diseases and causes of death in the district in 1999 to 2001 are indicated in the Tables 11a, 11b and 11c respectively below.
Top Ten Major Causes of Death 2005
DISEASE
Malaria
Gastroenteritis
Tetanus
RTA
Convulsion
Anemia
URTI
Asthma
Hepatitis
Meningitis
PERCENTAGE
12.1
12.1
6.1
6.1
6.1
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
RANK
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
5TH
6TH
7TH
8TH
9TH
10TH Source: Directorate of Health-West Mamprusi District 2005
There was a slight change however in the disease situation in the year 2000 and 2001 but with malaria still dominating as depicted in the table 11b and 11c respectively below.
Top Ten Major Causes of Death 2006
DISEASE
Malaria
Gastroenteritis
Anaemia
Septicaemia
Pneumonia
Bronchopneumonia
URTI
CVA
Tetanus
TB
PRECENTAGE
19.4
8.3
5.6
5.6
5.6
5.6
5.6
1
1
1
RANK
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
5TH
6TH
7TH
8TH
9TH
10TH Source: Directorate of Health-West Mamprusi District 2006
Out of these diseases and the numbers recoded in 2001, 3,534 were admitted and 161 died. The situation therefore requires serious governmental intervention since the only highest health service delivery point in the district is the District Hospital.
CONSTRAINTS
*Poor State of RoadsThe state of most of the roads in the district is deplorable. This is especially the case of roads in the ‘Overseas’ area. This has made access to a number of communities very difficult. In addition, due to the poor state of roads, patients with referral and emergency cases take too long to reach the hospitals in Sandema and Navrongo.
*Inadequate staffing
Due to the poor state of roads and problems including accommodation, medical personnel refuse posting to the district. In some cases, staffs that accept postings vacate their posts to seek transfer for various reasons. There is a shortage of staff for the district hospital and other sub-district health facilities.
*Inadequate Staff Residential Accommodation
The health sector is faced with accommodation problems for its staff. This situation has become a disincentive for acceptance of postings by staff and their continued stay in the district.
HOUSING, WATER AND SANITATION
Housing
The predominant housing types in the district and their distribution are indicated in the table below. The majority of people in the district live in huts built of mud and roofed with straw. The general state of housing in the district is poor with a lot of houses marked by cracked walls, leaking roofs and weak foundations. The poor state of housing indicates the high degree of poverty in the district. There is, however, an increasing trend of new houses being roofed with aluminium sheets.
The Table below shows that only 20% of all houses in the district have aluminium roofs. Since this is an accepted indicator of affluence in the society, it also reflects the degree of poverty in the district.
HOUSING TYPES
TYPE OF HOUSEMud with thatch roof
Sandcrete with thatch roof
Mud with aluminium roof
Landcrete and aluminium
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS
100
60
25
15
PERCENTAGE
50%
30%
12%
8% Source: Socio-economic survey – March 2000
With reference to number of rooms in each house, there was an average of six rooms per household with 10 persons per household in the district.
Water and Sanitation
*Water Facilities.
The principal sources of water supply in the district are boreholes fitted with pumps, hand dug wells (protected and unprotected) streams, pond and dugouts. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of settlements in the district rely on surface water for drinking either perennially or seasonally. Both human beings and animals share these same sources of water. There are a number of streams in the district. Unfortunately most of them dry out in the dry season. Animals also share the streams.
The urban communities including Walewale, Nasia and Wulugu source water from boreholes fitted with pumps. Walewale the district capital enjoys pipe-borne water. These water facilities were provided by agencies and NGOs including Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), World Vision (W.V.I) and New Energy.
Observations in the field indicate that most communities depend on streams, dugouts and ponds. In view of the high dependence of various traditional water sources by inhabitants in the district, there is a high incidence of water bound diseases in the district. The situation has improved tremendously of late from 2000 to 2005 where accessibility to potable water has increased from 31.5% to 51.6%. There are also three small town water systems in
*Liquid Waste Disposal
The district capital, Walewale, has only 7 public aqua privies. These facilities are all in bad state of repair and needs replacement of serious rehabilitation. There are only two alternative KVIP latrines in the centre of the town to serve thousands of people either resident or travelling. There are aqua privies in bigger settlements including Janga, Kparigu, Yagaba, Wungu, Kpasenkpe and Gbimsi which are almost out of use. All these facilities need maintenance or to sound better, replacement.
There are also water closets located in a number of government bungalows in the district. The district has 276 household VIP latrines, 7 institutional KVIP latrines and one public two-seater KVIP latrine. General sanitation conditions in several communities in the district are poor. Most people have no access to toilet facilities and the free-range system of human waste disposal is a very common feature. This has resulted in a high incidence of faecal-oral diseases in the district.
*Solid Waste Disposal
The district solid waste disposal system is not well developed yet. However, the District has of late acquired refuse collection and disposal equipment to improve on the situation. There practice of indiscriminate dumping of refuse in both large and small communities still persist district wide.
Institutional Arrangements for Water and Sanitation
District Water and Sanitation TeamThe district has in place a District Water and Sanitation Team (DWST), which is responsible for the management and administration of water and sanitation activities in the district. The DWST is currently involved in the following activities.
1.Collection and dissemination of information about district water and sanitation programmes;
2.Monitoring the activities of Partner Organisations;
3.Co-ordinating the activities of all water and household latrine and related sanitation programmes;
4.Co-ordinating activities of NGOs in the water and sanitation sector.
5.In collaboration with CWSA, the DWST monitors water quality issues.
Staffing Level
Of the 657 teachers in the district, 54.2 per cent are trained with the remaining 45.8 per cent untrained (Table 11). Though there are more trained teachers, teachers turn over from the District is very high. This leaves GES to always ask for more trained teachers which also goes to affect the District Assembly teacher sponsorship budget. A large stable number of trained teachers dedicated to duty provide a good environment for quality education in a district. In the case of senior secondary, trained teachers account for 71 per cent of the 48 teachers.
It is imperative that the number of trained teachers must be increased in the district.
Teacher/Pupil Ratio
The teacher-pupil ratios of nursery, primary, junior and senior secondary schools in the District are as follows. The district average teacher/pupil ratio as of 2005 stood as follows: for pre-school 1:129, primary 1:52 and J.S.S. 1:26. However, the figure for S.S.S. is 1:24 but this is not a true reflection of the ground situation since one teacher by virtue of subject areas maybe doing either more or less than necessary.
There is a wide skewness in the distribution of teachers. The deep rural communities have very limited number of teachers compared to in and around Walewale the District capital. This calls for and affirmative action to remedy the situation to ensure a balance in the distribution of teachers.
School Enrollment
The current total enrolment of school children is 30,451 and made up of 16,255 males (representing 53.4%) and 14196 females (representing 46.6%). The boy/girl Ratio gradually getting to 1:1 in most areas of the District from the previous estimate of 3:1. The total school enrolment for the district is shown in the table 12.
Drop-Out Rate
Dropout from school is gradually dwindling with increasing enrolments though still prevalent in some circuits. The practice also takes seasonal trends. Most parents engage in the habit of sending their children to farm during the farming season especially the boys. This reverses after harvest. The incidence of seasonal drop out is therefore rife. During the farming season, not less than 35% of the pupils in the district stop attending school. They help their parents on their farms. Education on this subject is yielding results and the annual school drop out rate is declining significantly.
The high drop-out rate of girls in school is the most significant phenomenon in the educational system in the district. Part of the problem can be attributed to the fact that as pupils grow up, they are needed in the house to take part in the tedious task of fetching potable water a task considered to be for females. The girls also tend to migrate to the south to work to get money to get married. The issue of girl migration is currently the number one social problem among the development stakeholders of the District.
Technical/ Vocational Education
There is only one vocational school in the district which is at its teething stage. The avenues for acquiring vocational and technical skills are therefore exceptionally limited. This does not auger well for development since this leaves most junior secondary school leavers without jobs. The District Assembly is making strenuous efforts in this direction to provide employable skills to the youth. Through the efforts of the District Education and Administration offices, a vocational school was successfully opened in the 2002/2003 academic year. The school has an enrolment of sixty students made up of females.
The district is vigorously pursuing non-formal education for the adult population. Currently there are about 120 adult literacy close to 3000 learners. Out of the total number of learners, 1,668 are male whilst 1,332 are female.
DONOR SUPPORT SITUATION
Over the period under review the District was lucky enough to receive some support from donors. Prominent among these were DANIDA, EU Micro Projects Programme, District wide Assistance Programme of CIDA, and the Wulugu Project, SIF, WVG etc. all these support in socio-economic infrastructural development. This support has helped to relieve the people of some suffering and has thus improved wellbeing.
The District expects similar but improved support to accelerate development from these and other donors and Agencies. Donors that readily come to mind are: DANIDA, EU MPP, DWAP, UNDP drylands project, GTZ, Savanna Resources Project, MCA, NORPREP, CBRDP, SIF etc. the success of the implementation of this plan hinges on the support of all development partners who the District fills so proud of.
