Last week, President John Dramani Mahama announced a bold national commitment to revamp Ghana’s poultry industry, declaring an end to the era of heavy dependence on imported genetically modified (GM) and hormone-injected chicken.
This announcement, made during a working visit to the National Service Authority (NSA) model farm at Papao, in the Greater Accra Region, signals a renewed focus on food sovereignty, youth employment and economic resilience.
President Mahama questioned why Ghana continues to import chicken of questionable quality while its domestic poultry sector remains underutilised. “We don’t know how those chickens were raised,” he said, referring to the imported frozen poultry. “In many countries, they use genetically modified chickens and inject them with hormones to speed up growth.”
He described such imports as “nkukofunu”,a local term for stale or unfresh chicken and reiterated his administration’s commitment to supporting local farmers and enhancing domestic production capacity.
At Papao, where the NSA is managing 70,000 birds with a projected capacity of 100,000 the President commended the initiative and pledged government support to transform the facility into a center of excellence.
He assured the NSA of access to critical infrastructure, including feed plants, transportation, solar power systems and hostels for workers and trainees.
More notably, President Mahama unveiled the upcoming launch of the Nkuko Nkitikiti Project, a nationwide poultry initiative aimed at empowering producers at all levels; large-scale, medium-scale and household.
The project promises to provide millions of day-old chicks, feed and vaccines, with the government offering a buy-back arrangement to ensure market access and sustainability.
According to the Animal Production Directorate of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana currently imports over 240,000 metric tonnes of meat annually, primarily chicken and beef—costing the nation more than USD 375 million.
With national poultry demand estimated at 400,000 metric tonnes and local production contributing just 57,871 metric tonnes, the deficit is stark. Broiler meat alone accounts for over 80% of total meat imports, making poultry the most strategic entry point for import substitution.
The Chronicle fully supports this national pivot toward poultry self-sufficiency. We commend the NSA and its partners for their achievements and welcome the government’s renewed commitment to the agricultural sector.
A successful poultry revival will create jobs, reduce foreign exchange pressures, and restore confidence in locally produced food.
However, we urge the government to ensure this initiative is not short-lived. History is replete with well-intended agricultural policies that failed due to lack of continuity, inadequate funding, and weak institutional support. Sustainability, transparency and long-term policy alignment must be at the core of this effort.
We also acknowledge that Ghana’s Biosafety Act, 2011 (Act 831) permits the regulated introduction of GM organisms, including poultry. While this legal framework remains valid, the government’s choice to prioritise naturally raised Ghanaian-grown chickens aligns with public health concerns and local economic interests.
We support this direction especially in the absence of transparency around the origin and safety of some imported poultry, which may have been stored under suboptimal conditions or lack nutritional value.
Ghana must strive for self-sufficiency in what she consumes. Let this poultry revival be more than political rhetoric, it should be a durable policy that redefines our food systems and empowers our farmers for generations to come.
