Bryan Acheampong, Minister of Food and Agriculture, has reiterated the government’s commitment to effectively assist chicken producers in Ghana.
According to him, the government is working hard to address the high price of maize, which has been a big blow to poultry producers and is making it tough to feed birds.
“A bag of maize costs around GHS 350 in Tamale, but due to transportation costs, suppliers sell them for between GHS 650 and 700.” The poultry farmers have also stated that they want to purchase the maize at GHS450, therefore we are striving to reduce the price.
“So either the Ministry will bring the maize to the farmers for them to get at a desirable price, or we will call on the private sector to do it,” he stated on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen.
Aside from maize, Mr Acheampong, the Abetifi MP, said he had got letters from wheat importers willing to give away bran to poultry farmers to feed their birds.
“They have already requested the farms to which they will present the wheat bran, and they will do so in due course, and we will also come out publicly to mention their names and honour them,” he added.
He also stated that the government is prepared to provide immunisations to chicken producers.
He, on the other hand, criticised Ghana’s poor poultry output despite high demand, but was confident that things would improve, adding that investors are ready to revitalise the business.
“We consume about 300,000 metric tonnes of poultry but produce 15,000 metric tonnes, which is only 4% of what we consume, and we can only produce 25,000 annually, so the situation is even worse than tomato.”
“However, we intend to increase that to 75,000 by the end of the year.” We are taking an investor to promadze by the end of the week to get it back on its feet. “Despite and Dr Ofori Sarpong, as well as other private individuals, have expressed a willingness to enter the large-scale poultry business,” he added.
