Ghana Spends $350m Annually on Poultry Imports – Minister
By Maame Efua Kwaduah
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has expressed concern over Ghana’s continued dependence on imported poultry products.
He revealed that the country spends approximately $350 million every year importing chicken and other poultry products.
According to the Minister, the substantial amount used to import poultry could instead be channelled into developing the local poultry industry, creating employment opportunities and strengthening the country’s agricultural sector.
Speaking on the future of Ghana’s poultry industry beyond the Nkoko Nkitinkiti project in a media interview, Mr. Opoku said the government is determined to increase the consumption of locally produced poultry and reduce the country’s reliance on imported chicken through the implementation of the Nkoko Nkitinkiti programme.
He explained that the persistent importation of poultry products continues to generate employment and economic benefits for foreign countries while depriving Ghanaian farmers and young people of similar opportunities within the domestic economy.
“As we speak, on an annual basis, we spend $350 million United States dollars to import poultry products into Ghana. That huge amount of money is creating jobs in those countries at the expense and peril of the youth of our nation,” he noted.
He said the Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative forms part of the government’s broader strategy to unlock the full potential of the poultry sector by increasing production, promoting value addition and creating sustainable jobs across the poultry value chain.
The Minister disclosed that after supporting households under the first phase of the programme, the next phase will target medium-scale poultry farmers to help them expand their production capacity.
According to him, many poultry producers currently operate with flock sizes ranging from 500 to about 3,000 birds but require financial and technical support to scale up their operations.
He stressed that it is the responsibility of government to provide the necessary assistance to enable these farmers to increase production as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s poultry industry.
Mr. Opoku further emphasised that supporting local poultry producers and encouraging consumers to patronise locally produced chicken will be crucial to reducing Ghana’s dependence on imports while building a resilient and sustainable poultry sector capable of meeting growing domestic demand.
