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Agrihouse Foundation has launched the fifth edition of the Ghana Poultry Day festival with a call to invest in Ghana’s local poultry industry to boost job creation, strengthen food security and drive agritourism.
This year’s edition will be celebrated on the theme, “Investing in the Local Poultry Sector: A Means to Creating Jobs, Promoting Agritourism and Improving Food Security”.
The festival is scheduled for July 1, 2025, and will feature exhibitions, panel discussions, culinary display and agritourism activities.
Government officials, chefs, media representatives, stakeholders, and other public figures are expected to be in attendance.
The media launch, which took place last Tuesday at the Accra Tourist Information Centre, was attended by stakeholders from agriculture, tourism, industry leaders and civil society.
The Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, said this year’s festival aimed to scale its impact by enhancing collaboration between the government, private sector and community actors.
“For the past five years, we have deliberately championed poultry sector advocacy by using fun and community-based engagement to communicate value, raise awareness, and encourage youth involvement,” she said.
She emphasised the power of using community-based engagements such as cooking competitions, mentorship programmes, and partnerships with traditional leaders to drive policy change, youth participation, and investment in the local poultry production.
“This year, we want every participant to go home with something tangible such as live chicks through our Cook-and-Engage initiative.
“We’re also focusing on amplifying youth voices and ensuring their participation in poultry value chains which leads to real opportunities and a lasting impact,” Ms Akosa said.
The Chairperson of the Ghana Poultry Day Festival 2025 Planning Committee, Dr Comfort Acheampong, described the festival as a national movement aimed at promoting locally produced poultry and reducing the country’s heavy reliance on imported frozen chicken.
She called for strong national support for the local poultry industry, citing high feed costs and unfair competition from imported frozen chicken as barriers for farmers.
“We need to return to the days when Ghanaian chicken was a symbol of celebration and quality, it is time we helped our farmers and gave our children the chance to grow up eating wholesome, locally raised poultry,” she said.
Representing the Ghana Tourism Authority, Alexander Nketia said the Ghana Poultry Day aligned with the government’s Black Star Experience initiative to promote culture-based tourism and highlight the role of agritourism and the potential for poultry farming to become a major tourism attraction.
“Agritourism is a growing global trend. By incorporating farm tours, cooking competitions and local food fairs, this festival can become a core tourism product that educates, entertains and creates jobs,” he said.
Mr Nketia suggested structured collaborations with poultry farms and communities to create guided tours and educational experiences, especially for students and international tourists.
He further proposed integrating experiential components such as regional poultry culinary displays, farm visits, and traditional performances into the festival to deepen public interest and promote rural economies.
The National Treasurer of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ralph Ayitey, underscored the economic importance of developing a robust local poultry industry.
“Ghana imports over 600,000 chickens daily, yet we have more than 570,000 unemployed people. If this sector is well-structured, we can change lives,” he said.
Mr Ayitey called on hotels, restaurants and hospitality service providers to be deliberate in sourcing local poultry, citing Coconut Grove Hotels’ policy of serving only locally raised birds.
“Let’s make Ghana Chicken a national brand which is fresh, healthy, and proudly Ghanaian.
This is about jobs, dignity, economic growth and national pride,” he said.
