Resources are any form of material available to the societies which are used in the production of goods and services to satisfy human needs. Examples include vegetation, buildings, air, skilled labour, mineral deposits etc.

 

Development refers to the process of qualitative advancement towards the enhancement of the people’s socio-economic well-being.

 

Resource development can be explained as the quantitative and qualitative improvement in a country’s resources that can be used to produce goods and services to improve the well-being of the people.

Utilization refers to the practical use of resources to satisfy human needs.

 

TYPES OF RESOURCES

        i.            Natural resources

      ii.            Capital resources

    iii.            Human resources

 

NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural resources can be explained as all materials provided by nature which are of use to man and for the production of goods and services. Examples include mineral deposits (i.e. gold, diamond, bauxite, oil, coal etc), animals, sand, air, sunshine, water bodies (i.e. sea, rivers, water fall), vegetation cover (i.e. forest, trees, plants) rocks etc

 

TYPES OF NATURAL RESOURCES

        i.            Renewable natural resources

      ii.            Non-renewable natural resources

    iii.            Inexhaustible natural resources

 

 

RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES

These are resources that be replaced or regenerated after they have been used. Examples of renewable natural resources include plants, animals and fish.

NON-RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES

These are resources that cannot be replaced or regenerated after they have been used. Examples of non-renewable natural resources include gold, diamond, coal, natural gas, and bauxite.

INEXHAUTIBLE NATURAL RESOURCES

These are resources that can be used many times without it getting finished or depleted. Examples include the sunlight, air, and the sea.

 

IMPORTANCE/ BENEFITS/ ROLE OF NATURAL RESOURCES

        i.            It serves as a source of food supply

      ii.            Provision of employment

    iii.            Provision of raw materials for industries

    iv.            It serves as a source of foreign exchange.

      v.            Provision of energy

    vi.            It provides areas for tourist attraction

  vii.            Provision of water for domestic and industrial use

viii.            Provision of means of transport.

    ix.            It serves as a source of medicine

 

FACTORS THAT HINDER THE EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES IN GHANA

        i.            Inadequate skilled personnel or lack of technical know-how

      ii.            Inadequate supply of equipment for the exploitation and processing

    iii.            Inadequate capital

    iv.            Political instability

      v.            Superstitious beliefs

    vi.            Negative attitude to work

  vii.            Brain drains of skilled personnel

viii.            Poor educational system

 

CAPITAL RESOURCES

Capital resources refer to all materials other than natural resources used in the further production of goods and services. Examples include buildings, tools, machines, airport, money, etc.

 

TYPES OF CAPITAL RESOURCES

        i.            Fixed or capital resources: this refers to the physical structures that do not change it form in the production of goods or services. E.g building, machines and equipment

      ii.            Working or circulating capital: this type of capital does not produce wealth itself, but they make it possible for fixed capital to do so. E.g. cash, stock, and account receivables

    iii.            Social capital resources: this type of capital resources refers to facilities, building, equipment, and organization owned by society and are not intended for making profit. Example include public school, public hospital etc.

    iv.            Liquid capital: this is the cash or money a person holds or intends using it to start a business.

 

SOURCES OF CAPITAL RESOURCES

        i.            Personal savings

      ii.            Loans

    iii.            Plough-back profit

    iv.            Trade credits

      v.            Donations or gifts

    vi.            Floating of shares

  vii.            Grants

viii.            Other lending institutions like the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI)

 

IMPORTANCE/ BENEFITS/ ROLE OF CAPITAL RESOURCES

          i.            Helps to facilitate production

        ii.            Financing of production

      iii.            Helps to increase foreign exchange

      iv.            Helps to increase the quantity and quality of work

        v.            Administrative expenses

      vi.            Purchasing of assets

    vii.            Replacement of assets.

REASONS FOR THE INEFECTIVE AND INEFFICIENT USE OF CAPITAL RESOURCES

        i.            High dependency burden

      ii.            High cost of living

    iii.            Lack of credit facilities

    iv.            High level of unemployment

 

HUMAN RESOURCES

Human resources refer to the size and abilities of a country’s population. It includes human capabilities, skills, knowledge, experiences, talents etc provided by the country’s population for the management of the affairs of the country’s institutions ann organization.

Or

Human resources can be described as the human skills, abilities, knowledge, and physical strength of the population available for work.

 

TYPES OF HUMAN RESOURCES

        i.            Skilled labour: they are the human labour that uses more mental abilities (skills and knowledge) rather than physical strength in the production process. Examples include accountants, engineers, medical doctors etc.

      ii.            Unskilled labour: they are the human labour that uses more physical strength than mental abilities. Examples include porters, labourers, messengers etc.

    iii.            Semi-skilled labour: they are human labour that falls between skilled and unskilled labour. They include artisans, hairdressers, masons, seamstresses, etc.

 

HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

It is the process of helping individuals to acquire skills and knowledge to enhance their capabilities to make them more productive.

 

MEASURES TO ADOPT TO DEVELOP HUMAN RESOURCES

        i.            Provision of education

      ii.            Apprenticeship or on-the-job training

    iii.            Provision of in-service training

    iv.            Provision of career counseling

      v.            Provision of organized visits to establish institutions

    vi.            Provision of technical and vocational education

  vii.            Good labor management and supervision

viii.            Adequate remuneration and incentives to motivate workers

    ix.            Creation of employment opportunities.

 

FACTORS THAT HINDER THE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF HUMAN RESOURCES

        i.            Poor attitude to work

      ii.            Lack of employment opportunities

    iii.            Fear of taking a risk

    iv.            Ineffective supervision

      v.            Health problems

    vi.            Inadequate technical and vocational skills

  vii.            Inadequate training and retraining

viii.            Inadequate capital

    ix.            Ineffective initiative and creativity

      x.            Low level of education

    xi.            Available better opportunities elsewhere (brain drain)

  xii.            Unattractive remuneration

xiii.            Political interference

 

MEASURES TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE THE LOSS OF HUMAN RESOURCE

        i.            Provisional of adequate health personnel

      ii.            Promotion of environmental sanitation

    iii.            Construction of good roads and regular maintenance

    iv.            Provision of necessary logistics to police

      v.            Provision of adequate health facilities

    vi.            Creation of jobs

  vii.            Provision of the improved condition of services for workers

viii.            Provision of training and retraining programs

    ix.            prevention of the use of hard drugs

      x.            making education accessible to people

    xi.            effective supervision

  xii.            provision of appropriate equipment for workers.

 

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE THREE RESOURCES

        i.            humans use machines to irrigate farms

      ii.            humans use machines to produce water for domestic and industrial use

    iii.            humans use machines to manufacture paper from timber

    iv.            land provides the ground and human skills use machinery to produce food for human consumption.

      v.            Capital resources are used by human resources to exploit natural resources

    vi.            Vehicles are used by humans to transport minerals for export

  vii.            Human skills are used by machinery to exploit resources

viii.         Humans identify and develop some natural resources such as water bodies, mountains, vegetation, and animal life for tourism

    ix.  .   Humans use capital such as machinery to construct roads and buildings from rocks and other materials

      x.            Humans use solar panels to generate electricity from the sun

    xi.            Human skills are used to generate electricity from turbines

  xii.            Humans use machinery to build or construct boats for transportation

xiii.            Human skills are used to construct roads on the land for transportation

xiv.            Humans use machines to manufacture basic needs such as palm oil from palm nuts, and toothpick from bamboo.