Dr Bryan Acheampong, Minister for Food and Agriculture, has indicated that Ghana’s efforts towards food self-sufficiency, particularly in chicken production, have seen remarkable progress.
The agriculture sector Minister disclosed this at a short ceremony in Accra to present an award prize to Madam Charity Akortia, 2023- National Best Farmer.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Bryan indicated Poultry consumption plays a critical role in meeting the nutritional needs of Ghanaians, approximately 70% of which are meat and eggs from Poultry.
The Minister underscored the fact that the national consumption requirement for poultry in 2022 was 324,047 MT; however, that for local production was only 15,000 MT (5%), and this gap was filled by importation, despite the country having the potential to be self-sufficient in poultry production. As of 2021, chicken imports and its products exceeded $300 million.
Stressing, Dr. Bryan said, there was an urgent need for the resuscitation of the industry, as a result, the ministry imported eighteen-million-day-old chicks, which were distributed to farmers this year, constituting a significant increase from the previous year. The boost in domestic chicken production under the PFJ 2.0 broiler project is expected to raise the country’s self-sufficiency from 15% to 23% by next year, a giant step aimed at eliminating the need for chicken imports in the next five years.
Updating the media on farmer registration under the Planting for Food and Jobs phase II initiative, Dr Bryan indicated that about two hundred thousand farmers have registered since registrations opened two months ago. it is expected that a total of two million farmers will be captured within the year.
Furthermore, the sector minister took the opportunity to highlight the expansion of irrigation schemes across the country, a crucial step towards increasing agricultural productivity. Under his tenure, the government has added a substantial Twenty-Five Thousand hectares to the existing irrigation infrastructure, providing farmers with the necessary resources to enhance their crop yields and contribute to food security.
