ISEES as part of efforts to improve the resource and process efficiency, productivity, and livelihoods of smallholder agro-proccessing women groups involved in oil food extraction in Ghana is rolling out a program to promote access to mechanized oil expellers in Ghana.
Small holder agro-processing industry is dominated by women at the bottom of the pyramid who works in hard conditions, smoky environments, using crude technology in extracting oil foods upon which their livelihood depends on. Women engaged in palm kernel oil extraction, peanut oil and moringa oil will be the focus in the first phase of the program. Engineers from ISEES with experts from KNUST Energy Center will be involved in developing schemes to help promote access to oil expellers for these women groups to improve their earnings and quality of oil produced.
ISEES is currently conducting a study on an Oil Expeller for Moringa Seed oil production at the Ghana Permaculture Institute in Techiman to develop knowledge for its scale up.
ISEES experts also worked with SNV Ghana to conduct process characterization studies on the energy use in palm kernel oil, shea butter, peanut oil and is piloting the impact of the installation of the oil expellers at Adam Palm Kernel Oil Processing group in Jei Krodua in the Central Region of Ghana, near Kasoa
Oil expellers are able to help improve process efficiency, quality of oil produced and provide them with increased incomes due to improved quality of oil that meets market demand.
ISEES will be working with these groups to help improve their work which will fall in line with the energy-food-water efficiency nexus.
ISEES is looking for development partners, private sector organisations and donors interested in improving smallholder agro-processing in Ghana to link up with ISEES in scale up this project. [email protected]
