Ghana Poultry Day is proposed by Agrihouse for July 1.
Agrihouse Foundation, a nongovernmental organization with a focus on agriculture, has urged the government and all significant stakeholders to support and recognize July 1 as Ghana Poultry Day in order to encourage the purchase and consumption of chicken that is produced locally.
Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa, the founder and executive director of the Agrihouse Foundation, stated that by declaring July 1 as National Poultry Day, the industry would receive the necessary attention to help recognize the commitment and hard work of people who worked in it.
Picking July 1 to mark poultry day will also highlight and honor the contributions of the poultry sector to the nation’s economy, according to Ms. Akosa, who was speaking at this year’s Ghana Poultry Day, which was held on July 1, 2023.
“Millions of people all throughout the country receive jobs, food, and cash from the poultry sector, which is an essential component of our economy.
But it’s frequently disregarded and underappreciated,” she remarked.
The third Ghana Poultry Day, which was hosted on the State House’s forecourt, drew important decision-makers, MPs, and chief executive officers of businesses and organizations, who participated in the day’s events.
Celebrities including Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, a presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Zanetor Agyeman Rawlings, the MP for Klottey Korle, and Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, the MP for Shai Osudoku, all prepared chicken dishes as part of the celebrations. Ghana Poultry Day
Abla Dzifa Gomashie, the MP for Ketu South, also served as the primary judge and provided the guidelines for the cooking competition.
The project, run by the Agrihouse Foundation, provided free grilled chicken and boiled eggs to attendees.
Dr. Yaw Frimpong Addo, the deputy minister of food and agriculture (crops), claimed that the country’s chicken production was just 15%, which he deemed to be insufficient, and urged poultry farmers to increase their efforts to help the nation stop importing poultry. Ghana Poultry Day
According to the minister, the government intends to implement a second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative, which will involve poultry breeding.
He stated that the strategy, which would be implemented over a five-year period, would shed more light on the poultry industry and provide it with the necessary support to grow and make the nation poultry self-sufficient.
Subsidy on feed
Gifty Rhodor, the chairwoman of the Greater Accra Regional Poultry Farmers Association, claimed that while the poultry industry had the potential to generate employment, roughly 85% of chicken farmers had given up because of the sky-high cost of poultry feed in the nation.
She claimed that had an effect on the nation’s poultry business as well.
The price of the feed has increased from Gh2,400 to Gh6,000 per tonne, which she said is excessive and discouraging poultry producers.
As a result, she urged the government to work to reduce the cost of the feed, which is primarily made of maize and soy, store it in warehouses during the bumper season, and make it accessible to everyone when it was out of season.