Support farmers to face industry challenges - USDA

The Chief of Party at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Ghana Poultry Project (GPP), Carianne de Boer has called on all stakeholders into animal agricultural to support farmers to develop a sustainable sector.

Speaking at the Launch of the 3rd Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries (LIPF) Training & Trade The show, the Chief of Party said Livestock, poultry, and fisheries undoubtedly can play a key role in preventing people from falling into poverty, and therefore deserve all the attention they can get.

“Farmers alone must not be left to face the challenges of the industry – when we move, we move together – policymakers, financial institutions, investors, and even consumers. We all must play a part in developing a sustainable animal agricultural sector,” she said.

The Chief of Party noted that in implementing GPP’s projects across some regions of Ghana, USDA came across stories of how poultry has moved women from unemployment to owning their own productive ventures and from poverty to prosperity.

“These are powerful examples of the progress we wish to see in our society. But these have not been achieved independently they had to overcome new sets of the interconnected value chain challenges at every stage of the growth of their businesses,” she said.

Livestock products are important to human livelihoods, for quality nutrition, human health, and well-being. However, animals and their products, also pose risks to human health, accounting for 70 percent of the infectious diseases that have emerged in humans can be traced to animals.

This goes to show how the sector is interlinked with others and requires collaborative efforts to harness its potentials in contributing to the larger national economy.

“To see commerce kick back into action, economies opening up again and barriers give way to new opportunities. Although like in other value chains, livestock, poultry and fisheries supplies experienced fluctuations amid the restrictions, many people still rely on these enterprises for their livelihoods,” she said.