The government will release 10 million birds onto the local market before the end of 2025 as part of measures to stabilise the poultry industry and reduce Ghana’s dependence on imports, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has announced.
Speaking in an interview with Citi FM, Opoku said the ministry was currently managing a large surplus of eggs, a situation likely to extend into 2026. He explained that several interventions had been rolled out to sustain production and stabilise the market.
The minister revealed that an initial GHC100 million provided to the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) for the purchase of staple grains had been fully utilised, with an additional GHC100 million already released. Field assessments, he said, indicate that about GHC500 million may be required to absorb the excess harvest.
“This is the first time in our history that the Government of Ghana has decided to intervene in the market to procure the essential food buffer for our nation,” Opoku said.
Under the Feed Ghana campaign, he said the Nkoko Nkitinkiti sub-programme is being implemented in three phases—targeting backyard poultry keepers, medium-scale farmers, and commercial producers.
Opoku explained that the success of the initiative has led to mass participation and a temporary oversupply. The planned release of 10 million birds is expected to sustain production levels and stabilise supply chains.
He also announced plans to establish a poultry processing centre at Dormaa under a public-private partnership to absorb increased output and boost domestic processing capacity.
“We are establishing, together with the private sector, a poultry processing centre at Dormaa to buy from farmers, process, and make the products available to the market,” he said.
Mr Opoku further disclosed that the ministry is linking soya-bean and maize producers with local feed processors to strengthen the domestic feed production chain and reduce reliance on imports. Local hatcheries are also being developed in partnership with private investors to produce day-old chicks locally.
He clarified that, by presidential directive, the Ministry of Education—not NAFCO—would oversee the procurement of surplus eggs for the school-feeding programme.
“The President has directed the Ministry of Education to ensure that the glut is cleared. They will determine the agency they will use to procure the eggs,” he said.
The minister’s remarks come ahead of the official launch of the Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative by President John Dramani Mahama in Kumasi later this week, marking the nationwide rollout of the poultry acceleration programme.
Opoku said the interventions were designed to protect farmers and sustain agricultural investments.
“If you don’t act and we allow this food to go to waste, it is a huge disincentive and people will be discouraged from investing further in agriculture,” he noted
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