By Edward Acquah/Dorcas Stephens
Accra, April 16, GNA – The Fifth Edition of the Ghana Poultry Festival has been launched in Accra, with keen focus on promoting the local poultry industry to boost the Feed Ghana Programme.
This year’s edition, spearheaded by the Agrihouse Foundation, in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority, will advocate policy interventions to revamp the local poultry industry and create awareness on opportunities in the sector.
At a press conference in Accra on Wednesday to launch the Festival, the Agrihouse Foundation announced that this year’s edition would be held at the forecourt of the State House on July 1, 2025.
The event is on the theme: “Investing in the Local Poultry Sector, a means to creating jobs, promoting AGR-Tourism and improving food security – our collective responsibility.”
Ms Albertha Nana Akyia Akosa, the Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, said the festival was to promote the consumption and patronage of locally produced poultry to reduce imports and create jobs.
The programme, she said, sought to identify the gaps in the sector and create platforms that would bring stakeholders together to address issues undermining the growth of the sector.
“Under this programme, we have set targets to foster sustainable growth and innovation in the agricultural sector and the poultry sector, specifically.”
Dr Comfort Acheampong, the Chairperson, Ghana Poultry Festival, called on the Government to partner with Agrihouse Foundation through the Feed Ghana Programme to build a self-reliant poultry industry.
She said poultry farmers required all the necessary support to boost the production of quality poultry products and appealed to financial institutions to invest in the sector.
“Locally produced poultry is the best one can enjoy,” she added.
Mr Ralph Ayitey, the National Treasurer, Association of Ghana Industries, urged the Government to implement deliberate measures to make Ghana a net exporter of poultry products.
He said the Government must invest in the sector to make it attractive to encourage the consumption of locally produced poultry.
“We should make it a national policy to consume poultry reared in Ghana,” he said, adding that the move would help boost the local economy.
Mr Ayitey said the high cost of feed was a major challenge to poultry farmers and urged the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to explore the use cassava peels and palm kernels, among other ingredients, to produce nutritious and affordable poultry feed to reduce cost.
The Agrihouse foundation, a non-governmental organisation, seeks to increase the level of local poultry production, encourage patronage and consumption and increase access and availability of locally produced chicken.
Among the key activities outlined for the Ghana Poultry Festival are panel discussion by industry players, cooking competition, food sampling, poultry farmers’ roundtable, exhibitions and fun games.
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