Half of the poultry farms in this African country have already stopped production, and more are likely to follow.
The trend of shutting down poultry farms in Ghana is thwarting the country’s plan to become self-sufficient in chicken production. In addition to soaring prices and feed shortages, bird flu remains a threat to the country’s flocks.
The latest Ghanaian poultry farm owner to announce the closure of his premises is Samuel Ofuso-Ampofo. He is the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress – one of the leading political parties in the country.
In a recent report on the Ghana Web, Ofuso-Amfofo said he is not making any profit from his egg business. Recent increases in feed and transport costs mean a loss in egg sales. He announced that he would close his 25-year-old poultry farm and called on the country’s current president, Nana Akufo-Addo, to take urgent measures to sustain domestic poultry production.
About half of poultry farms in Ghana have been closed since last year, according to the National Poultry Association.
If no measures are taken to support the sector, the number of poultry farms may drop to just 10% of that number by the end of 2022, association member Yiadom Boakye said.
Earlier this month, Ghana Web reported his appeal to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to take action.
Among the key problems he identified, according to Boakye, is the illegal export of soybeans and grains from Ghana. Domestic production of these feed ingredients is subsidized by the Ghanaian government. In order to obtain the plant by-products used for poultry feed, Ghana has to import these materials at further exorbitant prices, he said.
With prices of all commodities on world markets rising due to the disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, traders are taking advantage of the market situation, he said. Boakye added that recent investigations revealed the smuggling of soybeans and grains from the country to Togo, Nigeria and Benin.
Ghana restricts exports of key commodities
Late last month, the Ghanaian government extended restrictions on maize and soybean exports for another three months.
This action gave the temporary ban a total duration of six months, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). The aim of the extension was to maintain stocks of these domestic commodities – plus rice – to overcome expected shortages until September this year. Like the war in Ukraine, the last harvest in Ghana was lower than usual.
A total ban on outbound trade is not permitted for Ghana under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol. This regional agreement concerns the free movement of goods and persons. Under the directive, Ghana can only export these commodities to Niger, Sierra Leone and the Republic of Congo in Africa – as well as several other more distant destinations.
Government aims to increase chicken self-sufficiency in Ghana
Ghanaian farmers were already struggling to maintain chicken production late last year due to high feed prices.
According to FAS, domestic production met less than 20% of the country’s chicken requirements. For 2020, this source estimated chicken consumption in Ghana at 353,000 metric tons (mt). Of this, 58,000 mt was produced locally and 295,000 mt was imported.
For the 12 months starting January 2022, FAS forecasts total consumption to rise to 460,000 mt, while Ghanaian production was expected to be as low as 60,000 mt at that time.
While the government has announced plans to offer US$87 million in concessional loans to expand chicken production in Ghana, this ambition appears unlikely to be achieved in the short term.
Avian influenza continues to threaten Ghana’s poultry
In the past eight months, Ghana has been among the African countries reporting cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry.
According to the latest update from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 82 outbreaks have been confirmed in the country’s domestic poultry between October 2021 and February 11 this year. During this period, outbreaks associated with the H5N1 HPAI virus serotype were widespread in eight of Ghana’s 16 states.
Earlier this month, a senior official in the country said there had been 102 outbreaks in poultry since the beginning of the year, Modern Ghana reported.
According to the Greater Accra Regional Veterinarian, the disease continues to circulate in the country. As a result, he urged poultry farmers to follow biosecurity measures.
During an official tour of poultry farms in the country with various participants including FAO, he said that all bird owners affected by earlier outbreaks of HPAI have been compensated. The payments covered poultry culled due to HPAI from 2015 to the end of 2021. The source said the official pledged to begin compensation for more recent outbreaks soon.
