Contribution of “Box Saving” in Alleviating of Women’s Poverty and Food Insecurity: A Case of Rural Areas of Upper West Region of Ghana.

Abstract

This article examines the impact of Poguba Dagar Susu Langmo- Women’s Box Savings Groups (WBSGs), is a self-help financial tool capable of reducing women poverty and food insecurity in the rural areas of the Upper West Region of Ghana. A survey methodology is used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from 120 respondents in ten villages, who are all members of WBSGs. The paper establishes that, all the women who participate in WBSGs are able to feed their households at least one meal day, which was not possible. This article confirms that, most of the women could meet their daily basic needs and even effort for their wards school fees. The findings reveal that, though WBSGs is an effective micro-financial tool, they can never purchase any productive assets such as land or cattle to serve as future collateral. The paper concluded that, chauvinism and gender part obligation for which the reproductive effort inside the home is to womanhood and the main income realizing obligation to menfolk should be scrapped, and recommend that, the long-run solution to this chronic poverty and cyclical food shortage in the area, is to intensify all children education, especially the female child