Stakeholders in the poultry value chain last Tuesday converged on Tamale, the Northern Regional capital, to deliberate on developing a strategic master plan to transform and strengthen the country’s poultry sector.

The proposed plan is expected to serve as a holistic road map to guide the sustainable growth of the sector by integrating various poultry interventions, policies and development strategies into a single coordinated framework to guide successive governments and industry players.

The forum was organised by Agri-Impact Limited in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and other partners.

It formed part of the Harnessing Agricultural Productivity and Prosperity for Youth (HAPPY) project, which seeks to create employment opportunities for the youth, boost food production and reduce the country’s reliance on imported poultry products.

Participants in the forum included poultry farmers, feed producers, processors, marketers, researchers, financial institutions, policymakers and development partners who deliberated on challenges confronting the poultry sector and explored strategies to enhance productivity and competitiveness.

Coordinated strategy

Speaking at the event, the Deputy Director of the Animal Production Directorate at MoFA, Ricky Aboagye Poku, emphasised the need for a coordinated and long-term strategy to address structural challenges within the poultry value chain.

He noted that the development of a comprehensive master plan would help streamline policies, strengthen collaboration among stakeholders and attract investment into the sector.

He said that although the poultry sector contributes significantly to national economic growth, it continues to face several challenges, including the absence of effective implementation plans for existing interventions.

“What will make this master plan unique is that it will bring together various individual policies, challenges and opportunities into a single document to serve as a guide for the sector,” he said.

Mr Poku explained that input price fluctuations and the lack of reliable market-ready structures had been identified as major constraints confronting the sector, adding that these concerns would be incorporated into the master plan.

Challenges

For his part, the National President of the Ghana Poultry Farmers Association, George Dasaah, described the formulation of the master plan as a step in the right direction, noting that it would help provide direction and stability for poultry farmers across the country.

He added that a well-structured master plan would help address persistent challenges such as high feed costs, access to quality day-old chicks and unfair competition from imported poultry products.

Mr Dasaah also stressed the need for strong stakeholder collaboration and effective policy implementation to ensure sustainable growth of the poultry industry.

Successes

The Business Development and Research Manager of Agri-Impact Limited, Prince Manu Yeboah, said under the HAPPY project, more than 4.3 million birds had been raised, translating into approximately 7,500 metric tonnes of poultry meat, while employment opportunities had been created for over 8,000 young people in the past two years.

He explained that the achievement was largely due to the adoption of the private sector anchor model, which promotes collaboration between large-scale industry players and smallholder farmers to improve production efficiency and market access.

He said the poultry value chain presents enormous opportunities for job creation, food security and economic growth, stressing that the proposed master plan would serve as a practical and action-oriented document.

“This master plan will not be left on the shelves but will be actively implemented to drive growth and development within the poultry sector,” he said.