A Research On The Effect Of Asset-based Community Development (ABCD) Approach For Poverty Alleviation In Rural Northern Ghana

Rural poverty has over the years been identified as a major problem facing countries globally,breaking down economies,communities,and families.As a major problem,development actors worldwide constantly device effective strategies to curb this menace.One of these strategies is the asset-based community development(ABCD)approach for poverty alleviation suggested by different researchers.The objective of the research was to use three components of the ABCD approach which are: availability of local resources;assets mobilization;citizens participation to examine their effect on rural poverty alleviation in northern parts of Ghana,adopting the moderating role of government policies.Theoretically,this research is significant because it will add to extant literature available on the adoption of the asset-based community development(ABCD)approach for rural community development.Practically,it will assist policy makers to formulate and implement effective poverty alleviation policies applicable in developing societies and countries.A total of five(5)communities were selected from the northern part of Ghana and these communities include Bognayili,Kumfabiala,Baasa,Gambaga and Kalba.The respondents of this study consisted of settlers from these communities in the northern parts of Ghana.The researcher administered 350 questionnaires to the respondents through convenient sampling method based on the author’s judgement of representative sample characteristics.However,only three hundred(300)responses were deemed accurate and were adopted to justify the proposed relationships.Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS)version 26.0 was used to report the demographic information of the respondents,whilst Partial Least Squares based on Structural Equation Modelling using Smart PLS version 3.0 was used to evaluate the research model.The results obtained from the preliminary analysis of the data met internal consistency reliability,collinearity,convergent and discriminant validity this suggested the data were accurate to analyze the structural model of the study.The result of the structural model indicated that the availability of local resources,asset mobilization and citizens participation have a positive effect on rural poverty alleviation and was statistically significant at p < 0.01.This result means that the availability of local resources,mobilizing community assets and citizens’ participating in poverty alleviation programs and project will help in reducing poverty in rural communities and hence lead to an improved living standard.Also,the moderating role of government policies on asset mobilization was significant and this implies that asset mobilization should have a substantial attention of any poverty alleviation projects targeted at all levels of the society.Based on the findings,the study concluded that the ABCD approach coupled with government developmental policies can bring the growth and development Ghana seeks to acquire through effective poverty strategies and programs.The study recommends that,all the components of the ABCD approach should function in synergy to produce the desired outcome which is rural poverty alleviation in rural northern Ghana and other developing countries at large.