Ghana calls for investment in poultry sector

Ghana needs a heavy investment in the livestock and poultry sectors to enhance the competitiveness of local production says the country’s Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Livestock, Dr Tia Alfred Sugri.

Speaking at the 17^th Biennial Conference of the Ghana Society of Animal Production (GSAP) in Accra, Sugri said such investment would address Ghana’s local meat production deficit, which stands at 50% as well as to lower production costs and add value to Ghanaian animal products.

Sugri pledged the support of his sector to reduce the country’s dependence on imported animals and frozen meat, noting that the Government had implemented programmes and activities such as the National Cockerel Project, Credit-in-Kind scheme for pig farmers, establishment of legume fodder gardens and subsidies on fertilizers to support livestock farmers.

Sugri expressed dissatisfaction that domestic livestock production in Ghana had been led by small scale farmers and confined mainly to the northern savannah and the coastal plains, adding that the poultry sector had a number of commercial farms in the per-urban areas.

He called on institutions of higher learning to develop strong entrepreneurial academic courses to make graduates self-employed and reliant.

Source: GhanaWeb