The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has disclosed that Ghana spends approximately $350 million every year to import poultry products, noting that the situation is posing a major drain on the economy.
He said the money used for the importation of these products could be invested to create jobs for Ghanaian youth.
Speaking on the future of Ghana’s poultry industry beyond the Nkoko Nkitinkiti project on Friday, July 17, Mr. Opoku said the government is determined to reverse the trend by boosting domestic poultry production and encouraging the consumption of locally produced chicken.
According to him, the large sums spent on imported poultry are creating employment opportunities abroad instead of supporting Ghanaian farmers and young people.
“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 said on JoyNews.
The Minister explained that the Nkoko Nkitinkiti programme forms part of the government’s broader strategy to develop the poultry sector through increased production, value addition and employment creation.
He said while the first phase of the programme focused on supporting households to venture into poultry farming, the next phase will target medium-scale poultry farmers to enable them to expand their operations.
“Some of them are able to do from 500 birds to about 3,000 birds. They need the capacity to expand, and it is the duty of government, as we pursue increased production, to give them that support to enable them expand,” he stated.
Mr. Opoku stressed that increasing local poultry production and promoting the consumption of Ghanaian poultry products are essential to reducing the country’s dependence on imports and building a resilient and sustainable poultry industry.
Credit: 3news