Gov’t must urgently come to the rescue of poultry industry – Rachel Owusuah

The poultry industry is a major contributor to Ghana’s development through employment creation and the enhancement of nutrition and food security. In spite of these contributions, the poultry industry is entangled with a number of problems that necessitate urgent redress.

1.Scarcity of Main Line ingredients such as Maize, Local Soyabean meal and wheatbran as side it high cost.
Maize which is 50 to 70 percent of poultry feed has now become as scarce resources as majority of farmers to sell their birds leading to lost of job. The few farmers who are trying to stay in business struggle to get the cereal to feed their birds. A bag of 50kg which is sold for Ghc70 at beginning of the year 2021, was sold for Ghc150 as at close of yesterday 27th July, 2021
and even so it is not readily available.

Local Soyabean meal which is the cheapest source of feed protein, that forms 1 between 10 to 30 percent of the bulk of feed, depending on it’s use as in layer or broiler feed is no longer readily available on the market for use.

The phenomenon is no different for wheat bran which is 10 to 20 percent of the bulk offeed. At
the beginning of the year 2021, a bag of 25kg was sold for Ghc24, and now sold for Ghc40.00

2. High cost of poultry input and other related ingredients due to high import duty and taxes.

Ingredients Prices2017.

Prices 2021

Soya bean Meal Ghc150.00 – Ghc220.00

Concentrate 5%. Ghc220.00. – Ghc275.00

Concentrate 25%. Ghc180.00 – Ghc240.00

Concentrate 50%. Ghc95.00 – Ghc160.00

Fish meal Ghc260.00 – Ghc345.00

3.High cost of poultry medication.
Poultry drugs and vaccines have become very expensive due to high import duty and taxes

4.High cost of borrowing. In Ghana, financial services to the poultry sector is expensive and access is also a major constraint to the growth of the sector. The diverse operators in the poultry sector including input dealers and suppliers, primary producers, processors, transporters, storage operators and distributors all need financial assistance.

Limits market space
Due to government introducting Sausage and canned Mackerel into the food of senior high school, that reduced the consumption of egg drastically.

Also, the current economic hardship
in the country, has reduced the libido of egg consumers as almost everyone in the country is
living on a tight budget.

If the necessary steps are not taken by the government to solve the problem within one week, it will lead to the collapse of the industry.

Below are some suggestions to aid resolve these challenges affecting the industry

1.Government should as a matter of urgency, import maize and supply to farmers at reduced price.

2.Government should review the import duties and taxes on poultry inputs in order for the farmers to operate well.

3.Government should as a matter of urgency, provide poultry farmers with subsidies or guaranteed price for poultry products to serve as a shock absorber.

4.Government should provide the industry with soft loan or grants to save the collapse of the industry.

5.Government should as a matter of urgency, create buffers for maize to avoid further occurrence.

6.Government should direct all schools on feeding to use eggs as source of protein atleast two times week.

Also government through the private sector should take step to create industries that can process eggs into other form (powdered eggs, pasteurised eggs, macronyor spaghetti).

Signed
Madam Rachel Owusuah
Former Parliamentary Candidate
Dormaa East Constituency
0559343134