The launch of the Nkoko Nkekenkete Project by President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, in the Ashanti Region marks a defining moment in Ghana’s renewed pursuit of agricultural self-sufficiency.
After years of dependence on imported poultry, costing the nation over US$350 million annually, this flagship initiative signals a bold shift toward food sovereignty, job creation, and economic resilience.
For too long, Ghana’s poultry industry, once a reliable backbone of rural livelihoods and national nutrition, has suffered decline due to high feed costs, inadequate investment, and the influx of cheap imports. The consequences have been severe: collapsed farms, lost jobs, and weakening food security.
The Nkoko Nkekenkete Project presents a credible and ambitious response to these long-standing challenges. Targeting 60,000 household poultry farmers across the country, the initiative aims to make poultry rearing a viable household enterprise. Each participating family will receive 50 birds, feed, and technical support to strengthen their capacity as small-scale producers.
The Ghanaian Times finds this approach innovative and inclusive, as it places production directly in homes, schools, and communities, ensuring widespread participation and ownership. The scale of ambition—three million birds ready for the market within six weeks—underscores the urgency and seriousness with which the government seeks to curb import dependence.
The project also forms part of the broader “Feed Ghana Initiative,” which integrates the poultry farm-to-table concept with the food systems resilience programme. Together, these efforts lay the groundwork for long-term agricultural transformation.
Equally encouraging is the government’s plan to establish a modern poultry processing factory in Bechem. Processing facilities remain one of the weakest links in Ghana’s poultry value chain, often limiting farmers’ competitiveness. This forward-looking measure will create jobs, stimulate local economies, and guarantee a ready market for farmers, thereby improving the sustainability of production.
However, the success of the programme will depend heavily on consistent implementation, transparency, and coordination. Past agricultural interventions, though well-intentioned, faltered due to weak monitoring, inadequate data, and politicisation. It is therefore crucial that the Nkoko Nkekenkete Project ensures inputs reach genuine beneficiaries, not political loyalists.
Private sector participation will also be essential. The pledge by A2 Poultry Farm to establish a feed factory in Kumasi is a promising example of how private businesses can complement government interventions. Affordable and high-quality feed remains a major constraint to poultry production, and such partnerships will be vital to sustaining momentum.
The emphasis on women and youth empowerment further strengthens the initiative’s potential for broad social impact. Economic empowerment of these groups has far-reaching effects on household welfare and community development.
Ultimately, the Nkoko Nkekenkete Project should be seen not just as a poultry initiative but as a national movement for food self-reliance. If faithfully executed, it will reduce the import bill, revitalise rural economies, and restore confidence in local production.
The government has made a promising start; the collective responsibility now lies with citizens, private actors, and policymakers to make this vision a lasting reality.
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