About Trade Aid Integrated
Historical background.
In 1994 an undergraduate student and a native of the Upper East Region of Ghana in the person of Apokerah Nicholas begun to discuss with his colleague students then in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana on how they could contribute to the development process in their home Region during holidays.Environmental degradation and high population growth were the two important factors contributing to poverty and deprivation in the Region. To address this, a club called "Environmental Protection for Population" with the acronym ENVIROPOP was formed. The main aim was to create awareness on environmental and population issues.
In 1997, Nicholas Apokerah conducted a research on the Bolgatanga basket industry. " The theme was the role of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) in promoting the work of basket weavers". Although the research was meant to satisfy an academic condition for the award of Economics degree, it soon became clear that it was well beyond academic requirement.
The study revelled that; basket weaving was a major livelihood activity in Bolgatanga and Bongo Districts. That support given by NBSSI and its affiliate bodies was not adequate. The research also found that basket weavers were earning less than 20% of the final retail price. In 1998 the activities of ENVIROPOP were re-examined. The result was to form TRADE AID INTEGRATED to address indigenous trade/business issues in Northern Ghana starting from the Upper East Region.
Why Trade Aid Integrated
In spite o f the various poverty reduction initiatives both by the Government of Ghana and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), poverty is still endemic in Ghana. In some regions its incidence has increased significantly. Recent figures indicate that about 40 percent of the population fall below the poverty line, the percentage is much higher in the rural areas even though they produce about 60 percent of the national output. The Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper identified the three northern regions as having the highest incidence of poverty. According to the said document 70%, 80% and 90% of the people were considered poor in the Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions respectively. The Northern and Upper East were identified to have experienced increases in poverty levels.This not withstanding, the three northern regions are the least resource in terms of social infrastructure and institutional support to the informal sector.
Trade Aid Integrated identifies enterpreneurship as holding great potential for sustained poverty reduction. The idea is to build viable rural enterprises around the numerous indigenous livelihoods to generate employment and wealth for the rural poor.