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Poultry farmers raise red flags over govt's empty promises

Prices of such imported poultry products are almost 100 per cent less than what local farmers offer.

 

The poultry industry is perceived to be a major contributor to Ghana’s development through employment creation and the enhancement of nutrition and food security.

In spite of these contributions, the poultry industry is entangled with a number of problems that necessitate redress.

The Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) has attributed the challenges to the government's failure to fulfil a series of promises: such as financial support and implementation of a binding regulatory policy to transform the industry.

According to the National Chairman of the Association, Victor Oppong Agyei, government has still not fulfilled any of its promises with regard to stimulus packages for poultry farmers, thus leaving them to their fate.

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He also made reference to the Ghana Broiler Revitalization Project (GHABROP) that was launched by government in July 2014.

The Ghana Broiler Revitalization Project was introduced with the intention to reduce chicken importation by 40 per cent (over 50 million broilers per annum according to Poultry association) in order to boost local production.

Last year, the association started producing broilers in collaboration with government but fell short of sales.

At a workshop in Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Brong-Ahafo Region, Victor Oppong Agyei noted that government was expected to inject about US$39million into the industry to help boost local capacity in the areas of production, processing and marketing of broiler chicken in order to cut down imports of frozen chicken by 40 percent.

He said not even a single bird has been added to Ghana’s broiler stock since the project was launched.

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The workshop was aimed at equipping the selected participants with information and skill to be able to transfer knowledge to other farmers.

He said the current challenge facing the sector had to do with funds and a processing plant adding that many farms are on the brink of collapse as a result of the worsening business environment.

He pointed out that the urge of Ghana’s poultry industry to produce broilers, astronomical cost of production - especially prices of inputs, lack of financial support, and elusiveness of modern technologies continues to dwindle as 70 per cent of chicken in the country are imported.

The situation, according to him has compelled many poultry farmers going into other types of farming or quitting altogether.

He said the current domestic broiler production represents only 5 percent of broiler chicken consumption in the country -- and should the government walk the talk to boost local production to about 40 percent, about 60 million birds, as promised there will be massive job opportunities and other economic benefits.

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Mr. Victor Oppong Agyei added that, "An industry that has a huge potential to aid the desired transformation of our economy could soon grind to a halt. Poultry is a key economic element in some jurisdictions like the USA, where it employs about 1.3 million people and generated close to US$469billion in 2014. It’s now crucial for us to change the status quo in this country so as to save the sinking poultry industry."

Mr. Oppong-Agyei therefore wants government to strengthen the policy while expedite action on implementation.

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