info@businessghana.com
The government is targeting the distribution of seven million birds this year under the Nkoko Nkitinkinti initiative as part of efforts to scale up poultry production and reduce the country’s dependence on meat imports.
The exercise forms part of the poultry revitalisation drive under the Feed Ghana Programme (FGP), a flagship agriculture programme of the government.
At the rollout of the distribution in Accra last Friday (February 13), the National Coordinator of the FGP, Bright Kwadzo Demordzi, said the target was to recruit and train poultry farmers across the country before distributing the birds.
“The target is to be able to produce seven million birds this year. We are recruiting families and commercial poultry farmers from large, small and medium-scale farms. After training and building their capacity, we will distribute seven million birds across the country,” he said.
The event, which took place at the residence of the Greater Accra Regional Minister in Accra, brought together metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), as well as some municipal chief executives in the region.
Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo (left), Greater Accra Regional Minister, presenting the street lights to Raphael Nartey (right), Municipal Chief Executive, Ningo Prampram
Mr Demordzi said the programme was being implemented nationwide, adding that some regions had already benefited, mentioning the Ashanti, Bono East, Ahafo and Bono regions as areas where distribution had taken place.
The FGP National Coordinator said following the rollout in Accra, the team would continue to the Eastern Region, then to the Western North, Central and Western regions, before moving to the Volta and Oti regions.
He said the plan was to ensure that by April this year, all regions would have accessed the programme and beneficiaries enrolled for a second phase.
“This is not a programme that will end now. It is to ensure that we are self-sufficient in meat production,” he said.
Mr Demordzi said the country produced only about five per cent of its meat requirements, a situation he described as unsatisfactory.
He said the long-term goal was to raise local meat production to between 70 and 80 per cent by 2028 to reduce imports.
He explained that distribution had been decentralised and placed in the hands of district chief executives, district directors of agriculture and the animal production units of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Mr Demordzi also said the initiative went beyond the distribution of birds and targeted the entire poultry value chain.
“We are not only distributing birds. We are putting up processing facilities across the country,” he said.
He cited the commencement of a processing factory project at Bechem and another at Pru as examples of efforts to ensure sustainability in the sector.
“If you are able to work on the whole value chain, then sustainability is assured,” he added.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ocloo, said the initiative formed part of the government’s efforts to restore the country’s capacity to produce, process and consume what it grows.
She said the project would support households to produce eggs and poultry for local markets under a strategy that targeted small, medium and large-scale producers.
The minister urged metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to ensure transparency and fairness in the distribution of inputs and to encourage beneficiaries to adhere to technical guidelines.
She commended the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Feed Ghana Programme team for translating policy into practical support for citizens and declared the regional rollout duly launched.
At the same event, the Regional Minister distributed streetlights to MMDAs in the region as part of continuous efforts to improve public safety.
Each assembly received 100 streetlights.
Mrs Ocloo urged MMDCEs to move swiftly to install the streetlights in strategic locations, particularly markets, lorry stations, major intersections and other public spaces.
