The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, has pledged the commitment of government to adequately support poultry farmers in Ghana.
According to him, the government is effectively working to deal with the price of maize, which has become a major blow for poultry farmers and making it difficult to feed birds.
“A bag of maize is sold in Tamale around GHS 350, but due to transportation costs, suppliers sell them for between 650 and 700. The poultry farmers also say they want to buy the maize for GHS450, so we are working to beat the price down.
“So it is either the Ministry will bring the maize to the farmers for them to get at a desirable price or we will call on the private sector to do it,” he said on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen.
Aside from the maize, Mr Acheampong, who is Abetifi MP, disclosed he has received letters from some wheat importers who are prepared to give out brans for poultry farmers to feed their birds.
“They have already requested the farms they are to present the wheat bran to and in due course, they will do that, and we will also come out publicly to mention their names and honour them,” he said.
Additionally, he said the government is also ready to support poultry farmers with vaccines.
He, however, bemoaned the low poultry production in Ghana despite the huge consumption but was optimistic things would turn around, adding investors are ready to revamp the industry.
“We consume about 300,000 metric tons of poultry but produce 15,000 metric tons, which is only 4% and are only able to produce a total of 25,000 annually, so the situation is even worse than tomato.
“But we are working to increase that to 75,000 by the end of the year. There is an investor we are taking to promadze by the close of the week to get it back on its feet. Despite and Dr Ofori Sarpong as well as other private individuals have also expressed readiness to venture into large-scale poultry,” he said.
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