Move to reduce poultry importation lauded

The government has started the move to regulate the importation of poultry products into the country as part of measures to revamp the indus­try, the National Chairman of the Ghana National Poultry Farmers Association, Victor Oppong Adjei, has stated.

Cutting down on the impor­tation of cheap poultry in the country, he said, would help boost the poultry industry.

Mr Adjei was speaking to the Ghanaian Times during the open­ing of a three day training for the Apex Body of Women in Poultry Value Chain (WIPVaC) on quality egg production, bio-security to improve hygiene on the farms.

Organised by the WIPVaC, it was in collaboration with the American Soybean Association (ASA), World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH), Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers.

Mr Adjei said poultry farming was gradually picking up following government’s intervention to help farmers to produce broilers locally.

The National Chairman of the Ghana National Poultry Farmers Association indicated that the move to regulate the importation of poultry products, followed discussions initiated by the Ghana National Poultry Farmers As­sociation for the government to support the poultry industry to produce locally broilers, which is the mainstay of poultry farming.

Mr Adjei mentioned that it was difficult to sell broilers in Ghana due to cheap frozen chickens being imported into the country.

“The intervention of govern­ment to cut down importation on cheap poultry productions will go a long way to boost the poultry industry and give employment to people,” he said.

Mr Adjei noted that about 88 per cent of poultry farmers had lost their jobs within the past three years due to the high cost of production.

They argued that the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) had done little to reduce the cost of maize, saying in spite of the PFJ the price of maize, which is a component for feed was high.

“Government must be serious with this intervention, it is not the poultry industry alone that will benefit but the entire country, as poultry alone can create about 80 per cent of jobs for people,” he appealed.

Mr Ricky Aboagye Poku, Poultry Specialist at the Animal Production Directorate, MoFA, also indicated the government’s determination to help revamp the poultry sector.

He mentioned that the phase two of PFJ was focused specifi­cally on poultry “with the idea of cutting down our imports bills on frozen chickens to upscale the poultry industry in the country.”

“And this is what government is seeking to do with the phase two of the Planting for Food and Jobs to produce more rice, soybeans and maize to ensure cheaper prices to boost the industry,” he empha­sised.

Dr Victoria Norgbey, Presi­dent, WIPVaC, was full of praise for the foreign partners for the training, saying there was the need for poultry farmers to educate the people on the importance of egg consumption for better health.

Mr Agyeman Prempeh, Ashanti Regional Animal Production Offi­cer, MoFA, noted that egg was the cheapest source of proteins and was optimistic farmers would live up to expectation towards massive production.

 FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI