February 19, 2024

Lack of investments blamed for Ghana's low poultry production

The Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) has attributed low levels of Ghana's poultry production to inadequate investment in the value chain by both the Ghanaian government and private sector players.

GNAPF expressed concern about the situation, noting that there has been little investment in domestic facilities in the poultry value chain including hatcheries, feed mills, processors and cold chain facilities.

Ghana's poultry demand, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), exceeds 460,000 metric tonnes per annum.

However, data from GNAPF indicates that local hatcheries only produce some 5% of the entire national demand, with 95% coming from imports.

"With national demand still skyrocketing, feed mills are also producing at only 12% capacity," GNAPF president Victor Oppong Adjei said. He added that there exists only one commercial poultry abattoir in Ghana, which slaughters 9,000 birds per day. Renewed investment in the sector could trigger the establishment of several others.

Despite these capacity challenges, Oppong maintains that there is still opportunities for investors, for instance, in the area of broiler production which is currently at 15% of domestic demand. In general, GNAPF reiterated that major investment prospects exist in the value chain, specifically, the setting up of relevant facilities like large-scale farms, slaughtering and meat processing facilities, haulage and cold storage facilities, new hatcheries, feed mills and breeder farms.

The GNAPF said more attention has been given to layer production as it is seen as more lucrative by farmers due to the high demand for eggs.

While the government introduced the "Rearing for Food and Jobs" programme in 2017 to promote local livestock production, particularly poultry, the initiative — which was aimed to increase broiler production and stop reliance on poultry imports — has seen little results.

- B&FT Online