GHANA – The government has committed to invest US$541 million into the poultry industry to revitalize the sector and reduce the nation’s reliance on poultry imports which are worth more than US$600 million yearly.
This goal aligns with one of the key resolutions discussed at the Dakar II Summit recently held in Senegal.
A significant resolution of the summit was the prioritization of the key subsectors that have the most impact on a country’s food security.
According to the Chief director of Food and Agriculture, Robert Ankobia, Ghana currently produces about 50,000 tonnes of poultry per year and the investment intends to increase this amount to about 450,000 tonnes per year.
He communicated that this is a move to achieve self-sufficiency in poultry and poultry products by expanding production, value addition and increasing competitiveness.
Out of the US$541 million invested, US$20M will be spent on technical assistance programmes in animal husbandry and health, and US$69M expended on the expansion and upgrading of feed mills to reduce feed costs.
US$438 million will be allocated to the improvement of access to finance and cost-sharing support for private investment in hatcheries, and the remaining US$14.8 million used on programmes to promote the expansion of SMEs in processing and packaging.
“The above plan to invest in local poultry is part of pathways and one of the country’s key compacts during the Dakar II summit to attain self-sufficiency and agri-food transformation for the next five years,” said Mr Ankobia.
According to data cited in the Veterinaria Digital magazine, chicken is the main preferred source of animal protein in Ghana like in most West African countries.
The country’s consumption was about 13 kg/person per year in 2021 according to data from the USDA, and it was forecast to increase by 15% in 2022, reaching 460,000 tonnes consumed overall.
Compared to the aforementioned domestic poultry production, the country, therefore, relies heavily on imports to cater for the demand.
Broiler meat imports constitute over 80% of total meat imports into the country, with domestic broiler production being identified by the government as the fastest means of reducing meat imports.
With this funding and other initiatives put in place by the government, a lot of focus has been placed on the poultry sector as it makes up the livestock sector which is important to the overall economy, it contributes 14% to the gross domestic product.
According to Robert Ankobia, the domestic poultry sector is valued at US$62 million and the government is working towards growing it to US$562 million.
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