Eric Opoku is the Minister of Food and Agriculture
Ghana spends an estimated $400 million every year on chicken imports, a situation the government says is draining the economy and limiting opportunities for local poultry farmers.
This was revealed by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, during an interview on the Ghana Se Sen show on Lawson TV/Radio with host Kwame Tanko.
Opoku noted that Ghana once relied almost entirely on locally reared birds, especially during festive seasons. However, rising demand for poultry has caused imports to soar over the years.
According to him, Ghana imported 4,000 tonnes of chicken in 1998, increasing to 104,000 tonnes by 2004 and reaching 324,000 tonnes in 2022.
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“Today, more than 95% of the chicken consumed in Ghana is imported,” he said.
“This heavy dependence on foreign poultry is a huge drain on our economy and a lost opportunity for local farmers.”
To address the challenge, government has rolled out the Nkoko Nketenkete Project, aimed at revitalizing domestic poultry production.
Under the initiative, an initial 10,000 birds are being deployed, with a broader target of distributing three million birds nationwide.
Each constituency is expected to receive about 10,000 birds, to be shared among roughly 200 households, giving each beneficiary around 50 birds.
According to the minister, the birds will be fully vaccinated, enabling beneficiaries to begin rearing immediately.
“We are also providing feed to selected participants to support successful poultry production,” he added.
“This initiative is designed to support everyone from smallholder farmers to household-level producers.”
The Nkoko Nketenkete Project marks a major step toward restoring Ghana’s poultry farming tradition, reducing import costs and creating sustainable opportunities for households across the country.
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