Challenges of the fugu (smock) production industry in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

In Ghana's Upper East Region, the smock (fugu) industry employs both educated and uneducated people. Despite many announcements by successive governments to help improve the sector, it continues to face several obstacles. As a result, the aim of this paper is to reveal some of the issues and problems encountered by the industry. The study was carried out in the Upper East region of Ghana; Bolgatanga Municipal, Bongo District, and Kassena-Nankana Municipal. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect information for the survey. A total of 90 producers and 75 marketers were surveyed in this study. The study discovered that the industry of smock weaving and stitching faces several machinery problems. Many fugu production centres lack the necessary facilities to accommodate all apprentices. Additionally, because markets are scarce at places where the fugu fabrics are sewn into smocks, marketing the goods becomes difficult. As a result, the study suggests that the Assemblies offer the necessary help to the producers, and this can take any form, being it festivals and markets, as well as loans to help them display their goods and buy more yarns.