Industry

This sector is characterized by small-scale activities and the use of labour intensive production technology. These include cloth/smock weaving, soap making, blacksmithing, pito brewing, pottery and shea butter extraction, groundnut processing, soya beans processing.

The District Assembly in collaboration with Business Advisory Center (BAC) under National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and some NGOs, many individuals and women groups have been trained on soap making, batik tie-and-dye, soya processing, groundnut processing  and more. There are also farm base activities in animal rearing; pigs,sheep, rabbit, goat and poultry These activities of small scale businesses have stepped up income generating activities in the District.  Nevertheless, inadequate financial management skills, inadequacy of available credit facilities, low level of technology and inadequate socio-economic infrastructure stand as teething issues militating against the development of this sector of the District’s economy.

Type and Size of Industry

All industries in the District are small scale and can be categorized into agro-based, wood-based, textile-based, metal based, clay and sand based and leather based industries. This classification was based on the type of raw materials used in production (See table 2.6). From the table it could be observed that majority of the small-scale industries are agro-based (75.5%), wood based (11.5%), textile based (7.4%) with clay and sand and metal based industries accounting for the other proportions.

The high proportion of agro-based industries in the District indicates the strong relationship between industry and agriculture, which can be further, developed to enhance incomes. Industrial development is also gaining grounds as Business Advisory Centre (BAC) supported by Rural Enterprise Programme under the Ministry of trade and industry is in the process of promoting industrial development. The dependence on the depleting savannah woods of the District for charcoal burning and carving and the cutting and carting of rosewood for export can have dire consequences on the environment if measures are not put in place to regulate it.

Types of Ownership

Most of the small-scale industries in the District are one-man business. This type of business ownership has limited peoples’ ability to secure the needed funds to expand their businesses as most of them are operating below capacity. Table 1.7 below depicts the types of business ownership in the district. It can be observed from table 1.7 that as high as 93% of businesses are solely owned by individuals with only 7% being owned by relatives and cooperatives. To enhance growth and expansion of the small scale businesses the proprietors need to be encouraged to form groups and associations through which funds can be channelled to benefit prospective small scale business enterprises. 

Source of Finance

The small-scale operators in the District mobilize their initial working capital from their own saving. Other sources include relatives, friends, and moneylenders.  These sources give them only small capital to start with, which limits their ability to expand their businesses. Table 1.8 shows the sources of finance and the proportion of industrialists which depend on them.

From table 1.8 above it could be seen that financial institutions play a crucial role in supporting small-scale industries in the District.  The inability of the industrialists to secure loans from such financial institutions is attributable to the fact that the businesses cannot provide the necessary collateral security for loans. The need to form joint ventures for assistance is therefore imperative if financial assistance which has since been a major constraint to small scale businesses can be overcome.

Marketing

About 85% of the products from the small scale industries in the District are sold within the settlements of production usually at the working site. Out of the remaining 15%, 10% are sold outside the settlements but within the District and the remaining 5% are sold outside the district. It could be inferred from the forgone analysis that the small-scale industries in the district are:

• Producing to meet local needs;

• Creating jobs;

• Mobilizing small savings in the non-banking sector and channelling them into productive activities;

• Making use of local resources thereby contributing to the resource development of the district;

• Expanding the range of goods produced in the District and diversifying the goods on the market; and

• Improving incomes and therefore the living standards of the people.

Problems of the Small Scale Industrial Sector

In spite of these important roles, the small-scale industries are beset with a number of problems.  These include the following:

• Poor marketing opportunities;

• Limited finance;

• Poor technology in production

In order to bring about the desired diversification in the economy, the afore-stated problems have to be addressed.  Efforts should also be made to upgrade some of the small-scale industries into medium and large scale ones for accelerated economic growth.