President John Dramani Mahama has unveiled an ambitious plan to boost Ghana’s poultry self-sufficiency from the current 12 percent to over 75 percent by 2028, as part of government’s renewed efforts to achieve food security and reduce import dependence.
He announced this at the launch of the Nkoko Nketenkete Poultry Project at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi, describing the initiative as a bold step toward restoring Ghana’s food sovereignty and promoting inclusive economic growth.
The President said the project, which falls under the government’s broader Feed Ghana Programme, aims to empower households, smallholder farmers, and commercial producers to scale up local poultry production across all constituencies.
Under the initiative, government will distribute 10,000 day-old chicks to every constituency, targeting about 60,000 households nationwide. Each household will receive 50 birds, feed, and technical support to promote sustainable backyard poultry farming.
“This initiative is not just a government intervention; it is a national movement, a courageous step toward restoring food self-sufficiency, strengthening household resilience, and creating sustainable livelihoods for women, youth, and vulnerable families,” President Mahama said.
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He noted that Ghana’s poultry industry, which once contributed significantly to rural incomes and nutrition, had suffered setbacks due to high feed costs, limited access to improved breeds, inadequate processing capacity, and an overreliance on imports.
“In 2023 alone, Ghana spent over 350 million dollars importing poultry products, a drain on our foreign exchange and a missed opportunity for our farmers and entrepreneurs. We must, and we will, reverse this trend,” the President emphasised.
To achieve this goal, government is implementing a three-pronged strategy under the Feed Ghana Programme to rebuild the poultry value chain from household to commercial scale.
The strategy includes the Poultry Farm-to-Table Project, the Anchor Farmers and Outgrower Support Scheme, and the Nkoko Nketenkete Initiative focused on household-level production.
President Mahama disclosed that 50 anchor farmers would each receive 80,000 birds, logistics, and technical support to produce a combined total of four million birds.
In addition, 500 small and medium-scale poultry farmers nationwide will produce another three million birds under the Food Systems Resilience Programme.
He also announced plans to establish a modern poultry processing factory at Bechem in the Ahafo Region to serve as a ready market for producers in the Bono, Bono East, and Ashanti Regions.
“The procurement process is underway, and once operational, the facility will link farmers directly to processors, ensuring value addition and market stability,” he said.
The President reaffirmed government’s commitment to transforming agriculture into a driver of economic growth and job creation, calling for collaboration among stakeholders to ensure the success of the initiative.
“With the Nkoko Nketenkete Project, we are laying the foundation for a future where Ghana produces, processes, and consumes what it grows,” President Mahama added.
