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Difficulty: MediumInferential Comprehension and Deduction

Read the passage below carefully and answer the question that follows:

For generations, female-led cooperatives in Northern Ghana relied on open-air wood fires to roast shea nuts before oil extraction. While this labor-intensive method yielded butter with a distinctive smoky aroma valued by local buyers, it consumed vast quantities of indigenous hardwood, accelerating deforestation across the Guinea savannah zone. Moreover, prolonged exposure to toxic smoke created severe respiratory problems among older processors. Recently, several cooperatives in Tamale adopted solar thermal drying technology funded by green microfinance initiatives. The shift significantly reduced fuel collection time and eliminated smoke inhalation risks, allowing processors to increase daily yield by forty percent. However, export buyers from European cosmetic firms have noted that solar-dried shea butter lacks the characteristic smoky profile, occasionally requesting price discounts. Despite this commercial compromise, young women in the region are joining the cooperatives at unprecedented rates, drawn by safer working conditions and higher processing efficiency.

Based on the passage, what can be logically inferred about the traditional shea roasting method?

  1. Its economic advantage in local markets was sustained at the expense of ecological stability and human health.Answer
  2. B
    It was rejected by European cosmetic firms because of its high production costs.
  3. C
    It will soon be outlawed by the Ghanaian government to preserve indigenous hardwoods.
  4. D
    It was abandoned primarily because young women refused to learn manual oil extraction techniques.

Answer

The traditional shea roasting method sustained its local market value through its unique smoky aroma, but did so by causing significant environmental damage and health hazards.
The passage directly establishes that open-air wood fires produced a smoky aroma valued locally, but simultaneously caused severe deforestation in the Guinea savannah zone and respiratory illness among processors. Combining these facts yields the logical deduction that local commercial value was achieved at the cost of environmental degradation and human health.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the passage details regarding the traditional roasting method
Identified two contrasting impacts: a positive market trait (smoky aroma valued by local buyers) and two negative consequences (hardwood consumption causing deforestation and toxic smoke causing respiratory illness).
Inferential comprehension requires synthesizing stated facts to deduce unstated broader conclusions.
2
Evaluate the implicit relationship between these impacts
The local economic/market appeal relied directly on open-air wood fires, which simultaneously drove ecological depletion and health risks.
Connecting cause and effect reveals the trade-offs inherent in the traditional system.
3
Match the synthesized conclusion against the options
The statement highlighting that economic advantage in local markets came at the expense of ecological stability and human health accurately reflects this logical deduction.
Eliminate options that misinterpret details or make unsupported extrapolations.

Key Concept

Inferential Comprehension and Deduction
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Inferential Comprehension and Deduction

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