Mr Edward Ansah, an agripreneur, and in the Asene Manso Akroso district of the Eastern Region, has appealed to the government to establish a poultry processing plant in the district to address marketing challenges confronting farmers.
He said the facility would provide a ready market for poultry farmers, improve the value chain, and make poultry farming more attractive to the youth.
Mr Ansah, a beneficiary of the Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative through the Asesne Manso Agric Department of the district assembly, is currently brooding 15,000 birds under intensive management at G.F. Farms at Manso.
He was selected for the initiative because of his continued efforts in crop production and his ability to produce poultry feed using farm produce.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Manso, Mr Ansah identified marketing as one of the major challenges confronting poultry farmers in the district.
He said consumers often preferred processed poultry meat from cold stores to live birds, making it difficult for farmers to sell their produce.
“Marketing is difficult because consumers prefer the already prepared meat at the cold stores to the live chickens,” he said.
Mr Ansah appealed to the government to provide the district with a poultry processing and distribution facility to create a sustainable market for locally produced poultry.
He noted that the facility would also encourage more young people to venture into poultry farming and help address unemployment in the area.
On the role of farmers in reducing the country’s high broiler import bill, Mr Ansah added that investment in poultry processing should be prioritised alongside initiatives aimed at increasing local poultry production.
“The processing plant should be the major matching investment to recommend for the Government to sustain the Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative,” he said.
Mr Ansah expressed appreciation to the government for supporting poultry farmers through the Poultry Intensification Scheme and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture under the Feed Ghana Programme and the West Africa Food System Resilience Programme.
He said the support, including grants for the procurement of equipment, feed and vaccines, certified seeds, as well as technical training through seminars and workshops, had contributed to improving farmers’ operations.
He, however, appealed to the government to ensure the timely payment of grants to enable beneficiaries to plan effectively and sustain their farming activities.
Adding that the establishment of a processing facility in the district would complement government interventions and strengthen the poultry value chain from production to processing and distribution.
By Elizabeth Ama Ofosu, GNA