Poultry farmers call for government engagement in poultry initiatives

Poultry farmers are asking the government to engage them in programmes and interventions geared towards promoting Ghana’s poultry industry, before implementation. 

This, according to the farmers, will ensure the accountability and sustainability of poultry initiatives introduced by the government to boost the poultry industry to promote protein food security, while reducing the importation of already processed chicken. 

Nana Asante Krobea, a former National President of the Poultry Farmers’ Association, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on the side lines of a poultry master plan workshop in Kumasi, that, involving key stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of such initiatives would ensure success. 

He commended the government for the introduction and implementation of the Nkoko Nketenkete initiative intended to reduce meat importation into the country. 

However, he said such initiatives required extensive consultation and engagement with the poultry farmers before its implementation. 

This, Nana Krobea emphasised, would help track progress to improve or maintain same strategy in boosting the poultry industry. 

Contrary to this, he observed that, poultry farmers in the region were not properly engaged or consulted before the implementation of the Nkoko Nketenkete initiative. 

In that case, tracking the progress of the initiative would be difficult as none of the already existing farmers received any of the birds to rear. 

Additionally, Nana Krobea said the challenges facing the poultry industry in the country went beyond the availability and supply of quality birds. 

He noted that, poultry farmers had issues with the availability and supply of affordable quality feed, veterinary services, processing and marketing among others. 

According to him, farmers could do their best to raise birds, however, the outbreak of poultry diseases combined with inadequate number of veterinary specialists, caused the farms great losses. 

Again, Nana Krobea said due to the lack of processing machinery in the country to cut the birds into specific parts to satisfy the demand of the market, farmers were always forced to sell live birds. 

This, he noted, made it difficult for the Ghanaian poultry industry to compete with the already processed and imported chicken, which had found its root in the market. 

Mr Raymond Denteh, a Private Consultant, said every year Ghana imported about 400,000 metric tonnes of chicken despite the availability of the Ghanaian poultry industry. 

He observed that if Ghana decided to replace 25 percent of the imported chicken, farmers must produce 100,000 metric tonnes of chicken each year in addition to what was being already by local farmers. 

Mr Charles K Donkor, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Poultry Farmers’ Association, appealed to the government to provide incentives for all actors on the value chain of the poultry industry. 

He noted that the actors on the value chain of the poultry industry, especially, the crop producers, played important roles in raising the birds to the consumable stage. 

Additionally, Mr Donkor requested that the government made known to the poultry farmers’ association in the country every policy and initiative concerning the poultry industry. 

Source: GNA