President John Dramani Mahama has said Ghana will be producing 100 per cent of the chicken Ghanaians consume in three years once the Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti project takes off.
According to John Mahama, the objective is to ensure that nearly all the chicken consumed in the country is produced in Ghana.
Speaking during a visit to the National Service Authority Papao Farms in Accra on Friday, September 12, John Mahama explained, “Once the Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti project takes off, we believe that in three years, we’ll be producing almost 100% of the chicken that we eat in Ghana ourselves. So that we can stop bringing nkokɔfunu from outside. We don’t know how those chickens were raised”.
“In many of those countries, they use genetically modified chickens. In many of the countries, they inject the chickens with hormones,” he noted.
“We want fresh Ghanaian-grown chicken, so that our people can live a healthy life,” he emphasised.
Also, John Mahama has announced that new poultry processing plants will be constructed across the country to support the upcoming Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti project.
He added, “Next month we’re going to launch the Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti project. It is going to have three layers. The first will be the large-scale producers. They are going to get about 4 million day-old chicks. The second will be the medium-scale producers. They’ll get about 3 million day-old chicks”.
“Every household, every young entrepreneur who signs up, you identify your site, your chicken house and then we’ll give you the day-old chicks, and we’ll also supply you with the feed. We’ll also vaccinate the day-old chicks for you,” he said.
“So yours is just to feed them and let them grow. And after the chickens are grown, we will come to your farm and buy all the chickens from you and give you your next set of day-old chicks,” Mahama assured.
President Mahama further revealed that a large-scale production will be established in multiple regions.
“And so we’re going to build processing plants in different parts of the country. And the first processing plant is going through procurement. And once the procurement authority approves it, we’ll start to construct it,” he said.
“Other parts of the country would also have processing plants. So when we buy the chicks off you, we’ll take them to the processing plants. We’ll process the chickens and package them nicely with Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti brand on them.”
“This will help us to cut our huge poultry import bill. We should be able to produce enough poultry to feed the whole of Ghana,” President Mahama emphasised.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has revealed government plans to officially roll out the ‘nkoko nkitinkiti’ programme in October.
The ‘nkoko nkitinkiti’ programme was originally scheduled to be launched in July with a pilot phase, but was postponed due to limited consultation and engagement.
The Mahama government’s nkoko nkitinkiti project goal is to reduce Ghana’s import dependence on poultry products, especially chicken and eggs.
The project also seeks to create sustainable employment opportunities for young people.
Eric Opoku has reassured poultry farmers that the revised launch date would be honoured.
Speaking to the media after the launch of the second phase of the West Africa Livestock Marketing Programme (PACBAO), Eric Opoku stated, “Plans are at an advanced stage, and it is expected that by the first week of October, His Excellency the President will officially launch the programme.
The media will be invited, after which distribution will begin across various constituencies to reach beneficiary farmers. We are finalising the beneficiary list and completing procurement processes with contractors to supply the birds. Very soon, implementation will take off,” he stated.
The Agric Ministry aims to save foreign exchange, but also to create sustainable jobs.
The Nkoko Nkitinkiti project will benefit a projected 55,000 households nationwide, boosting employment in the agricultural sector.
Additionally, Eric Opoku rejected calls for the immediate restriction of the import of chicken.
He argued that the current consumption rate, hovering over 400,000 metric tonnes, would be detrimental to making such a decision.
He asked: “When you look at the poultry sub-sector, for instance, our consumption as a nation is estimated at around 400,000 metric tonnes, but production is around 15,000 tonnes. So, how do you place a ban on the importation of poultry products?”
“We are now working to increase poultry production. If we are able to increase our production level to, let’s say, 80 per cent, then we can place a ban to protect local producers. So, the first thing we have to do is to put in place mechanisms to increase production and productivity.”
He further expressed concern over Ghanaians’ taste for foreign goods as compared to locally produced ones.
Eric Opoku added, “When you look at the farmers’ produce, the processors have added value. But the Ghanaian consumers will go to the market and then choose the foreign product against what is produced here. If you do that, your expenditure is creating jobs elsewhere, whilst your own people are suffering”.
“So, what we must do now is to get our people to understand that every expenditure that is made on the Ghanaian-made products will go to increase job opportunities for our own people,” he urged.