The Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFF) has called on government, financial institutions and the private sector to help cut down Ghana’s reliance on imported chicken.
It says such independence can be achieved by backing local poultry farmers with direct investments at the farm level.
Speaking on behalf of the association at the 6th Ghana National Poultry Day Festival held at the State House in Accra on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, the National Secretary, Dr. Abutu Kapori, said farmers remained the foundation of the industry and should be at the centre of all policy decisions.
The event was held under the theme: “Driving Local Production: The Critical Role of Farmers in Scaling Ghana’s Poultry Industry.”
Dr. Kapori noted that a significant share of chicken consumed in Ghana was still imported.
“This is not a failure of demand. Ghanaians eat poultry eagerly and often. It is a gap in local production capacity, and that gap represents both our greatest challenge and our greatest opportunity,” he stated.
Reasons for the demand
Continuing his address, Dr. Kapori reminded stakeholders that every egg and piece of chicken consumed in the country began with a farmer.
“Every egg cracked into a bowl this morning, every piece of chicken that will be grilled, gracing a Sunday table across this country, began the same way — on a farm, in the hands of a Ghanaian farmer who woke before dawn to feed, water, and tend birds that most of the country will never see. We gather today to celebrate an industry that has made Ghana proud,” he said.
He acknowledged growth in commercial layer and broiler operations over the past decade, and the entry of young people and women into poultry as a business.
He said local production retained foreign exchange, created rural jobs and protected food security from “international shipping routes, frozen-chicken dumping, or currency fluctuations.”
Three barriers holding farmers back
Dr. Kapori identified three main challenges facing members of the association. According to him, they included feed cost and inconsistency, cost and access to credit, and disease risk and weak biosecurity.
“Feed alone can account for well over half the cost of raising a bird to maturity,” he said.
He explained that sudden increase in prices of maize and soya, driven by poor harvests, hoarding and industrial competition, force farmers to absorb losses or sell underweight birds.
Commercial lending rates, he said, remained too high for poultry margins.
“Most financial institutions still treat poultry as a high-risk, short-term venture rather than a bankable agribusiness,” he noted, adding that farmers also needed training in record keeping and basic accounting.
He said outbreaks of avian influenza and Newcastle disease “can erase months of investment in a matter of days.”
Smallholders, he said, lacked consistent access to vaccines, diagnostics and timely veterinary guidance.
Roadmap: What must be done and by who
Rather than general appeals, Dr. Kapori presented specific actions for government and industry players.
On feed, he asked government to incentivise local maize and soya cultivation for poultry, support regional feed-blending cooperatives, and curb grain hoarding. He urged feed millers to offer bulk-purchase arrangements that did not penalise smallholders.
With respect to credit, he called on banks, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL) to design poultry-specific loan products with repayment cycles that match production. He also asked for expanded loan guarantee schemes for smallholder and women-led farms.
Regarding disease control, he tasked the Veterinary Services Directorate to expand district presence, subsidise vaccines and create a faster early-warning system. He said GNAFF had plans to train members in basic biosecurity.
Concerning markets, he urged state institutions such as schools, hospitals and the military to prioritise local poultry in procurement. He also called on processors and retailers to sign direct off-take agreements with cooperatives, and asked government to maintain import tariffs that protected local producers “without shielding them from fair competition.”
He further requested investment in rural electrification, cold-chain storage and feeder roads.
Focus on youth, women and farmer organisations
Dr. Kapori said the next phase of growth should target young people and women, who he described as the backbone of smallholder production.
“Poultry farming offers one of the lowest-barrier entry points into commercial agriculture,” he said, urging that credit, training and land access deliberately target these groups.
Turning to fellow farmers, he said: “Join your district associations. Share knowledge across regions. Support the farmer next to you when disease or drought strikes, because his loss this season may be the early warning that saves your flock next season.”
Call for year-round commitment
Ending his address, Dr. Kapori said Ghana had the land, labor, climate and demand to become a regional poultry leader.
“What stands between where we are and where we must be is not ambition — it is the level of practical, sustained investment we are willing to make at the farm gate,” he said.
“On this National Poultry Day, let us recommit ourselves — government, private sector, and farmer alike — not merely to celebrating this industry once a year, but to building, brick by brick, farm by farm, a Ghana that feeds itself with pride.”
The event convened government officials, development partners, feed millers, hatchery operators, processors and farmers to evaluate progress made over the past decade in scaling up local poultry production.
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana/West Africa
