Poultry farmer appeals for government intervention

A poultry farmer, Mr. Joseph Owusu has appealed to government to create the right structures to enable the domestic poultry industry to compete favourably on the international market.

He pleaded with government to give the local poultry industry the needed support and protection to strengthen them for efficient operation to contribute meaningfully to the growth of the national economy.

Mr. Owusu, Managing Director of Adom Farms Limited at Masu in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Brong–Ahafo region made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

He said a large number of poultry farmers were in dire need of equipment like cold storage facilities to store both chicken and eggs; to keep them in a healthy state before their onward transfer to customers on the domestic market, and for onward shipment overseas.

Mr. Owusu expressed regret that the cost of production was too high as prices of materials for producing feeds and concentrates were astronomically being increased daily.

He cited imported fish meal which sold at GHC170.00 in July this year now cost GHC260.00, while maize which was priced at GHC 35.00 per 50 kilos now sells at GH C50.00.

“Government is not helping us at all, and this is impacting negatively on our businesses,” Mr. Owusu lamented. He added that government’s assistance with subsidy on poultry inputs and materials would not only reduce their cost of production, but enable them to employ more workers.

He stressed the need for the extension of electricity to areas in the Municipality where the poultry business was most prevalent to reduce expenditure on fuel because: “we spend so much on petrol to power our generators in order to provide heat and also draw underground water for the birds”.