Ghana’s poultry industry urgently requests support

With the sector poorly developed and imports sky-high, the Ghanaian poultry industry has reached breaking point, say local analysts.

Nadia Jasmine, Freeimages.com
Nadia Jasmine, Freeimages.com

With the sector poorly developed and imports sky-high, the Ghana poultry industry has reached breaking point, say local analysts.

Even before COVID-19 spread to the West African state, its poultry sector was close to collapse. The situation has not been improved by the arrival of the pandemic.

Domestic poultry production now accounts for just 5% of the broiler meat consumed in Ghana, and imports have risen to 155,000 metric tons (mt), reports 3 News. According to the National Association of Poultry Farmers, those figures were 60% and 13,900mt, respectively, in 2000.

Representing the Association, its vice chairman Napoleon Agyemang Odura called for “massive funding and incentives from the government” to rescue the ailing sector. A return to Ghana’s 100% self-sufficiency in the poultry sector — as in the 1980s — is possible, he said.

Previous initiatives to increase chicken production — such as the National Broiler Revitalization project — have not brought the hoped-for improvements in output. According to Odura, this was because of inadequate investment in the value chain. He highlighted the need for more automation in broiler feeding, and meat processing.

Local poultry production needs to receive this boost, according to a director of Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson. He said that there is a ready market in Ghana for low-cost animal proteins such as chicken. A kick-start to domestic production would not only ensure food security. He told 3 News such support would also create jobs, and reduce the need for costly foreign imports.

Reducing Ghana’s reliance on imports of chicken meat

Already in 2010, Ghana’s poultry sector was calling for cuts to imports of poultry meat.

The West African nation’s total annual demand for poultry is around 400,000mt, according to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Of this total, local production amounts to 57,871mt or approximately 15% of demand. With imports of poultry meat of 180,000mt, the ministry estimates a shortfall of more than 162,000mt.

Chicken accounts for more than 80% of all the meat imported by Ghana. As a result, the ministry recognizes that supporting broiler chicken production would represent an effective means of import substitution.

Ghana’s poultry initiatives

In June of 2019, the country’s President Nana Akufo-Addo launched the Rearing for Food and Jobs (RFJ) Initiative. This aimed to modernize and transform agriculture for food, jobs and foreign exchange through the rearing of livestock including poultry. Goal of this initiative for the poultry sector was to produce 40,000mt broiler meat in 2020, and to scale up production in subsequent years.

This year’s target was to be reached through cooperation of the ministries of agriculture and local government to select groups of farmers in southern Ghana. Each cluster of around 100 current or past poultry farmers would work together, and local people would construct new poultry houses.

Government offered a 40% subsidy for a limited period to attract farmers. In addition, the agriculture ministry would offer a 50% subsidy on the setting up costs of 1,000-2,000 day-old chicks, vaccines, and feed for the first two weeks. Also offer by the government was processing equipment comprising slaughtering, cutting and packaging units, refrigerated vans, and mobile slaughtering plants with a capacity of 300 birds per hour.

Production of both chickens and eggs in Ghana has shown an upwards trend since 2000, according to FAO figures reported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, RVO highlighted in a report published in January of this year the increasing demand for poultry meat and eggs in Ghana, as well as the continued rise in foreign imports.

High-cost and poor-quality inputs (feed, day-old chicks, veterinary products) were identified as key factors holding back Ghanaian poultry producers. There are other challenges throughout the production chain, and RVO highlights business opportunities for Dutch companies involved in supplying the poultry industry to support growth in this sector in Ghana.

Page 1 of 1576
Next Page