President John Dramani Mahama yesterday launched the Nkoko Nketenkete initiative, a government flagship programme aimed at boosting Ghana’s poultry industry.
It is designed to bring poultry production directly to the doorstep of every Ghanaian — in schools, homes, and communities across the country.
Targeting 60,000 household poultry farmers across all 276 constituencies of the country, 3,000,000 birds are expected to be ready in the next six weeks for the Ghanaian market.
It is the flagship element of the poultry industry revitalisation programme of the broader Feed Ghana initiative of the government.
The other legs of the poultry revitalisation initiative are the poultry farm-to-table project and food systems resilience programme.
Launching the project in Kumasi, President Mahama said the time had come to revitalise Ghana’s once lucrative poultry industry, which hitherto was the source of income for rural communities and national nutrition.
In 2023 alone, President Mahama said Ghana spent over US$350 million importing poultry products — a drain on foreign exchange and a missed opportunity for farmers and entrepreneurs.
“We must and we will reverse this trend. The time has come for Ghana to reclaim the pride of producing, processing and consuming what we ourselves grow,” he emphasized.
He explained that the initiative was more than just a government intervention; it was a national movement — a courageous step towards restoring food self-sufficiency, strengthening household resilience, and fostering sustainable livelihoods for tens of thousands of Ghanaians, especially women, youth, and vulnerable families across the country.
Under the project, each participating household will receive 50 birds, feed support, and technical guidance to ensure sustainability.
The breeds — pullets and cockerels — have been selected for their resilience, adaptability, and high productivity under local conditions.
“Before this national rollout, the programme was tested in 13 districts and 13,000 farmers benefited. The test demonstrated that backyard poultry is not a marginal activity; it is a transformative route to better nutrition, food security, job creation, and local agribusiness. Our goal is clear,” he stressed.
To complement production, President Mahama said a modern poultry processing factory in Bechem, Bono Region, was set to be established, with sod expected to be cut next month.
The President noted that the government’s vision of a revitalised poultry industry rests on the shoulders of citizens, as the government remains committed to providing an enabling environment for investments to thrive.
“The success of this programme depends on our collective efforts. It is a citizens’ movement for food security and self-reliance. And so to our traditional leaders and our religious leaders, your voices will inspire communities,” President Mahama rallied.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr Eric Opoku, expressed grave concern over the country’s continued reliance on foreign poultry imports.
He disclosed that between 1997 and 2022, the nation imported about 324,000 metric tonnes of chicken from countries including the United States of America, Brazil, China, and The Netherlands, at a cost of nearly $300 million.
Mr Opoku lamented that only 15,000 metric tonnes, representing 4.6 per cent, were produced locally during the same period.
He explained that this imbalance informed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Party’s campaign promise to introduce the Nkoko Nketenkete Project, designed to redirect resources spent on importation into local production.
Under the project, each constituency across the country will benefit from about 10,000 birds, with special emphasis on empowering women and strengthening national food security.
The Minister revealed that a pilot programme had already been implemented in 13 districts, where guinea fowls and chickens were distributed to beneficiaries.
A nurse, yet to be posted, who was a beneficiary, shared a testimony on how the intervention had transformed his livelihood, underscoring the project’s potential to change lives.
Commending private sector support, Mr Opoku acknowledged A2 Poultry Farm, which has pledged to establish a feed factory in Kumasi to supply beneficiaries and sustain the initiative.
Mr Opoku stressed that the Nkoko Nketenkete Project is not only about poultry production but also about job creation, empowerment, and building resilience in Ghana’s agricultural sector.
FROM KINGSLEY E. HOPE & JULIUS YAO PETETSI, KUMASI
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