**2. The problem and contribution of the chapter**

There are reports of the discharge of raw palm oil mill wastewater into the environment [15, 16]. The Master Plan study on the Palm Oil Industry in Ghana revealed that the activities of small-scale palm oil processers do not comply with environmental regulations [11]. The limited data on the characteristics of wastewater produced by small-scale mills in Ghana casts shadow on the level of environmental damage caused by this important subsector of the economy. This, in turn, obscures the possible technical and policy interventions that may be proffered to mitigate the environmental impacts of the industry. The informal and wide-spread nature and high contribution of small-scale mills to Ghana's palm oil production warrant attention and research.

This chapter describes the small-scale palm oil production operations in Ghana to highlight the associated environmental problems arising from the disposal of wastewater and other waste by-products. The chapter further discusses the effluent discharge permitting arrangements and possible modifications to the production practices and policy interventions that could improve their environmental compliance and encourage resource recovery.
