Africa-Press – Ghana. Baffour Kwadwo Damoah Afari, Sanaahene (sub-chief) of Dormaa Traditional Area in the Bono Region, has called on the government to subsidize poultry feed for farmers to produce more and to meet the growing national poultry demand.
He noted that poultry farmers were unable to produce more because of the high cost of feed, saying with the subsidy, the farmers could improve productivity.
Baffour Afari indicated that presently farmers could only produce between 57,000 metric tons and 60,000 metric tons of the expected annual national demand of 460,000 metric tons.
The chief made the call when speaking at the opening session of a two-day maiden poultry business clinic at Dormaa-Ahenkro, jointly organised by the Business Resource Centre (BRC), Dormaa Central Municipal Assembly and the Dormaa Poultry Farmers Association.
It was attended by traditional authorities, input dealers, financial institutions, poultry farmers and other stakeholders in the agriculture sector and the poultry value chain.
Baffour Afari expressed concern that poultry farmers spent about 80 percent of capital on feeding, saying the importation of low-cost poultry products like day old chicks, poultry meat and feed supplement as well as eggs from countries like Argentina, Poland, Brazil and Holland were also another challenge confronting the nation’s poultry sector.
Other pressing challenges include, poultry disease, lack of insurance for poultry farms and birds, poor farm management practices, as well as stealing of eggs.
“These challenges drive marketing and sales control to the disadvantage of domestic poultry producers”, Baffour Afari stated, and stressed the need for the government to do more to make the sector more attractive and to boost farmers’ confidence and productivity as well.
Baffour Afari lauded the organization of the poultry clinic, saying that remained crucial to improving and turning round the economic prospect of the nation’s poultry sector.
He told the farmers that the Dormaa campus of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) had a dedicated department for agriculture and advised them to visit the department and to seek information, knowledge and expertise to transform their businesses.
Baffour Afari advised the poultry farmers in the area to also create a realistic data base for their poultry business to aid effective business decision-making and enable them to receive support from development partners.
He said truthful data on their operations would further guarantee the sustainability, growth and expansion of their businesses, urging them to form cooperatives and to share information among themselves.
“Sharing real data will enable them to also benefit from government intervention and support as well as get some tax incentives”, he stated.
Mr Daniel Sena Tsorme, the Head of the BRC, took the participants through various classifications of Micro, Small, Medium and Enterprises (MSMEs), their differences, annual turnovers, and fixed assets value.
He said the Center would continue to promote the poultry industry in the Dormaa Central Municipality by highlighting its prospects, challenges and opportunities as well as producing documentary films about the sector.
“We are concentrating on Dormaa Central for now, however poultry farmers in Dormaa East and Dormaa West Districts can join us if they want to”, he stated, saying that the center would also work to help create a reliable data base that would drive investments.
Mr Tsorme also advised the farmers to leverage social media opportunities, saying the center also had intentions to create a social media handle to promote the industry in a more positive way.
He urged, especially the women farmers to acquire the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA)’s certification and licensing of their pack house or warehouse for eggs to ensure that they meet the required standards.
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