Urban demand

The pressure exerted by population on the biophysical environment is transmitted in various ways, especially through the demand for products derived directly or indirectly from the environment. The demand originates from rural and urban areas within a country itself, and from other areas outside the country. We carried out surveys in rural markets at Adawso (near Yensiso), Sekesua and Amanase, in a preliminary attempt to determine the character of this demand on our study areas, particularly in terms of what is taken out and their destinations. The results are summarized in tables 10.4 and 10.5 and in figure 10.1.

Table 10.4 Types of Commodities Destined out of Adawso, Sekesua and Amanase Markets (percentages)

Market	Food items						Other items
	Staple foods (cassava, plantain, yam, maize, cocoyam)	Vegetables, beans & condiments (tomato, garden egg, okra, pepper, kontomire, [cocoyam leaves])	Fruits (citrus, banana, avocado, others)	Processed foods (gari [grated fried cassava], kokonte items [dried cassava chips or flour], palm oil)	Other food (palm fruit, snails, fowl, sugar cane)	All food items	Miscellaneous (brooms,corn husks,baskets, dried plantain leaves)	Fuel (firewood, charcoal)
Adawso	36	31	11	7	15	100	0	0
Sekesua	30.5	10.5	27.6	11.4	7.6	87.6	9.5	2.9
Amanase	26.2	17.9	17.2	16.4	7.5	85.1	81.1	6.7
Combined averages	30.9	19.8	18.6	11.6	10	90.9	5.9	3.2
Top four commodities:
Adawso	Sekesua	Amanase
1. cassava	1. cassava	1. gari
2. tomato	2. citrus	2. cassava
3. palm fruit	3. pepper	3. citrus
4. maize	4. plantain	4. kontomire

Source: Based on market surveys by sample in October 1993.

Table 10.5 Destinations of Commodities Purchased by Middlemen from Adawso, Sekesua and Amanase (percentages)

	Urban
	Accra- Tema	Koforidua		Suhum	Agomenya	Mampong- Akuapem		Nsawam			Akropong Akuapem		New Tafo	Aburi		Asesewa		Total
Adawso	33.3	16.7		0	0	10		3.3			6.8		3.3	3.3		0		76.7
Sekesua	71.1	0		3.8	11.5	0		0			0		0	0		3.8		96.2
Amanase	85.3	0		9.8	0	0		4.9			0		0	0		0		100
Combined averages	65.2			4.5	3.8	3.3		2.7			2.3		1.1	1.1		1.3		91
	Rural
	Afienya		Mamfe		Tutu		Kodiabe		Amanokrom			Ahwerase			Kpone		Total
Adawso	6.8		3.3		3.3		3.3		3.3			3.3			0		23.3
Sekesua	0		0		0		0		0			0			3.8		3.8
Amanase	0		0		0		0		0			0			0		0
Combined averages	2.3		1.1		1.1		1.1		1.1			1.1			1.1		9
Top four commodities destinations:
Adawso				Sekesua		Amanase
1. Accra-Tema				1. Accra-Tema		1. Accra-Tema
2. Koforidua				2. Agormenya		2. Suhum
3. Mampong-Akuapem				3. Kpone		3. Suhum
4. Afienya				4. Asesewa

Source: Based on market surveys by sample in October 1993.

Figure 10.1 Destinations of Commodities from Adawso, Sekesua and Amanase

On the whole, food items, most especially unprocessed primary agricultural ones, led by cassava, comprised nearly 91 per cent of the commodities destined out of the three markets, which confirms the significance of farming as a factor in the environmental change. About 9 per cent of the commodities that were destined out consisted of other items, including firewood and charcoal, whose production contributes significantly towards the depletion of the forests.

On the average, 91 per cent of the commodities were destined for urban settlements,! most especially Accra-Tema, Ghana's largest settlement, a finding which is in general conformity with a previous observation with respect to the Sekesua market (Gyasi 1976). The remaining 9 per cent were destined for rural settlements which, like the urban destinations, were located within or near the forest-savanna zone (fig. 10.1). It is evident then that the demands of the urban centres are a significant source of stress on the forest-savanna environment. In the past, much of the production pressure placed on this zone originated from outside Ghana. It took the form of external demand for minerals and primary agricultural and forest products, notably palm oil, cocoa and timber.