According to President John Mahama, Ghana imports chicken worth around $400 million annually.
The President reiterated plans to assist 54 people in producing four million birds, or 10,000 metric tonnes of chicken, and said the imports should be a source of shame for all Ghanaians.
President Mahama emphasised the government’s dedication to promoting livestock development in order to increase the output of cattle and small ruminants, including as sheep and goats, as well as to increase access to superior breeds.
When he introduced the government’s Feed Ghana Program, a flagship project in Techiman, Bono East Region, the president made this clear.
He stated that the program’s chicken production component would also prioritise infrastructure and agro-production enclaves.
This includes installing irrigation systems, enhancing road infrastructure, supplying electricity, and setting up storage facilities that will draw in private capital.
According to the President, the initiative would improve agricultural produce output and processing even more.
In order to lead the program’s implementation, President Mahama gave tractors, fertiliser, maize seeds, and a Kia truck to a few organisations, including the Ghana Prisons Service and the National Service Authority.
He said that the Feed Ghana Program offered a proactive approach rather than merely a policy and urged unity and shared commitment in transforming the country’s agriculture as a driver of growth and wealth.
The President acknowledged that there were some difficulties in the industry, but he expressed great optimism that the program would be implemented successfully. He urged farmers, agribusinesses, financial institutions, and development partners to work together so that the program would produce the desired results.
The program’s objectives are to create agro-industrial zones throughout Ghana, encourage the use of contemporary farming methods, enhance infrastructure, and undertake strategic steps to boost food production.
According to President Mahama, one of the main initiatives of the Feed Ghana Program is smart agriculture, which entails the construction of farmers’ service centres across the country.
Essential services like mechanisation, high-quality inputs, financial assistance, market access, primary processing, and farmer training will be offered by the centres.
President Mahama declared that in order to assist young agri-entrepreneurs and improve the country’s food production, farm banks or land banks will be established in specific irrigable zones.
Increasing the production of maize, rice, soy beans, and sorghum for consumption, agro-processing, and export is the emphasis of the program’s second component, grains and legumes development, he said.
The third element is the “Yeredua” vegetable development project, which encourages local vegetable farming in an effort to cut down on imports from nearby nations.
President Mahama emphasised the value of funding urban and peri-urban agriculture, greenhouse technology, and controlled environmental farming, as well as encouraging schools to cultivate their own food in backyard gardens.
In order to improve self-sufficiency, the initiative’s fourth component will concentrate on encouraging institutional farming, which will enable households and communities to grow crops like tomatoes, peppers, and garden eggs.
Additionally, it will help organisations like Senior High Schools gain access to land so they can raise cattle and produce crops.
The “Nkoko Nketenkete” initiative, which aims to revitalise the poultry industry, is the sixth component of the program.
