By Benjamin A. Commey
Accra, June 21, GNA – The Government has started the process of procuring birds and battery cages for farmers and households to commence the poultry production initiative, otherwise known as the ‘Nkoko Nkitinkiti’ project, Mr Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, said on Saturday.
He announced plans to officially launch the initiative within the next two to three months, saying the project piloting was expected to commence in the coming weeks.
Mr Opoku disclosed this at the maiden AgriFair organised by Citi FM and Channel One Television in Accra.
The ‘Nkoko Nkitinkiti’ project is an initiative by the Government to revitalise the country’s poultry industry and reduce reliance on imported chicken.
It aims to empower 55,000 households to produce eggs and poultry, thereby creating jobs and boosting food security.
With an estimated $300 million spent annually on importation of chicken, the programme is expected to reduce the country’s imports wage bill.
Mr Opoku said the project would soon take off, indicating that currently, the process to obtain birds, which were an essential part of the project, had commenced.
“We are in the process of procuring the birds and also the battery cages for distribution to the various farmers or households,” he said.
“But before then, while we are on the process of procuring, we are also looking at piloting something small to see what will happen when we scale it up throughout the country.”
Mr Opoku said the Government had identified about 50 commercial-scale poultry farmers with the capacity to take about 80,000 birds each, adding that with financial support, those farmers could produce four million chickens to the Ghanaian markets at a time.
That, he said, would ensure the achievement of chicken sufficiency and reduce the country’s import bill.
“That alone can push Ghana’s capacity to above 80 per cent, and that will be gradually inching to the sufficiency level,” he said.
The Minister rejected calls for the immediate restriction of import of chicken, explaining that with the current consumption rate hovering over 400,000 metric tonnes, it would be detrimental to take such a decision.
He asked: “When you look at the poultry sub-sector, for instance, our consumption as a nation is estimated at around 400,000 metric tonnes, but production is around 15,000 tonnes. So, how do you place a ban on the importation of poultry products?”
“We are now working to increase poultry production. If we are able to increase our production level to, let’s say 80 per cent, then we can place a ban to protect local producers. So, the first thing we have to do is to put in place mechanisms to increase production and productivity.”
Mr Opoku, however, expressed concern over Ghanaians taste for foreign goods as compared to locally produced ones, urging them to support the local producers by patronising made-in-Ghana products.
“When you look at the farmers’ produce, the processors have added value. But the Ghanaian consumers will go to the market and then choose the foreign product against what is produced here. If you do that, your expenditure is creating jobs elsewhere, whilst your own people are suffering,” he noted.
“So, what we must do now is to get our people to understand that every expenditure that is made on the Ghanaian-made products will go to increase job opportunities for our own people,” he urged.
The three-day fair, which commenced on Friday, brought together a mix of farmers, agribusiness professionals, students, and policymakers.
Some food items displayed are yam, plantain, cassava, fresh tomatoes, cabbage and lettuce, chicken, freshwater fish as well as processed foods like groundnut and tomato paste.
It also features an “Agric Clinic” for expert consultations, tailored agribusiness advice and technical support to enhance productivity, scale operations and adopt sustainable practices.
GNA
Agnes Boye-Doe