Poultry farmers in Ghana are pushing the government to take a bold decision to regulate the importation of frozen and other finished poultry goods into the country, as 500,000 crates of eggs are on the verge of spoiling even though players in the sector have slashed their price by almost 20 percent.
Associations like Ghana National Poultry Farmers Association (GNPFA), Women in Poultry Value Chain (WIPVAC), Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association (GAPFA) and the Ghana National Egg Campaign Secretariat (GNECS) are the ones spearheading the call to the Ghanaian government.
Members of these four associations say that they will be forced to lay-off their staff and shut down farms if nothing is done to address these challenges.
“It is obvious to all of us that the hospitality sector is on its knees, the education sector is under a partial lock down as well – and this has affected the school feeding programme which used lots of eggs. It is a no-brainer that poultry farmers are going to find it difficult during these times of imposed restriction to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the country. We are therefore in trouble, big trouble,” said Victoria Norgbey, president of WIPVAC.
Industry leaders are asking for some pragmatic directives sanctioned by the government, to ensure the Form Three SHS students who will be resuming school will be made to take one egg a day in order to reduce the number of eggs currently stored, which are under threat of going to waste.
They are also asking the government to regulate poultry meat importation. This will open the door for farmers to move into the broiler business, allowing them to sustain their operations. According to the farmers, the regulation should ensure that a minimum 40 percent of the market share be controlled by local producers – a government project that already existed on paper, but never went into effect.
According to farmers, the influx of those poultry products is not only killing the local poultry industry but also poses a health threat to the consuming public, due to the unknown sources and qualities of the imports.
The GNPFA is also warning of a trickle down effect towards maize production.
“On the surface, things might not look alarming; but if you look at how it trickles down to even the maize farmers, then you get a better picture. If the eggs are not sold, we can have a situation where we throw the eggs away – meaning production cost has gone down the drain.
“This means we can’t pay for the feed that was given to the birds; and if that happens, we are not going to get money to even buy the feed. Bearing in mind that 70 percent of maize is consumed by the poultry industry, the maize farmers will not have any market. It is terrible, the industry is going to collapse,” said the Chief Executive Officer of AGLOW Farms and member of GNPFA.
Players in the sector also want to implement a “One day, One Egg” campaign, to increase egg consumption and raise awareness regarding the health benefits of eggs and how they are great immune-boosters, especially in the time of COVID-19.
Source: https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Poultry-farmers-push-for-regulation-of-imports-970705