Reviving Ghana’s poultry industry: Call to action
Once a vibrant pillar of national economic development, Ghana’s poultry sector now stands at a crossroads. In the 1960s and 70s,
Ghana proudly met its domestic poultry demand, even exporting processed chicken meat and day-old chicks (DOCs) to neighbouring countries.
The industry supported tens of thousands of livelihoods and contributed to national food security and GDP growth.
Fast forward to 2025, however, and the picture is disheartening.
Today, local production meets less than 10% of Ghana’s poultry consumption, with about 400,000 metric tons of chicken imported annually—mostly from the EU, Brazil, and the USA. This massive import dependency not only threatens local agribusinesses but also exposes the nation to serious food security vulnerabilities.
How did we get here?
1. Trade liberalisation without protection
The liberalisation of Ghana’s trade regime in the 1980s and 90s opened the floodgates to subsidised poultry imports from industrialised nations.
With no safeguards in place, local producers—already battling high production costs—were edged out of their own market.
2. Rising cost of feed and inputs
Feed constitutes about 70% of the cost of poultry production. Local feed prices, driven by high costs of maize and soya, remain uncompetitive. Compounding this are poor input financing systems and lack of forward contracts between farmers and suppliers, making the value chain vulnerable to price shocks.
3. Weak hatchery and breeding systems
Most hatcheries operate far below capacity. Ghana lacks a national breeder program to produce fertilized eggs, relying heavily on expensive imports.
Local DOCs are often of inconsistent quality, leading to poor flock performance and higher mortality rates.
4. Fragmented value chain and infrastructure gaps
From inadequate abattoirs and cold storage to inefficient logistics, the poultry value chain in Ghana remains underdeveloped.
The absence of cohesive linkages between producers, processors, marketers, and regulators reduces productivity and limits competitiveness.
5. Policy gaps and poor coordination
Government interventions, though well-intentioned, are often fragmented, inconsistent, and politically motivated.
There is no long-term, coordinated national strategy for poultry development. Policies are reactive rather than strategic.
6. Fragmented farmer associations: The silent killer of Ghana’s poultry ambitions
One of the most crippling yet under-acknowledged challenges facing Ghana’s poultry sector is the fragmented nature of farmer associations and the near-absence of coordinated value chain collaboration.
This disunity weakens advocacy, limits access to affordable financing, and deprives the sector of the bargaining power needed to influence national policy.
Without strong, united cooperatives or apex bodies, poultry farmers and farmers in general, struggle to secure inputs, access training, enforce quality standards, or pool resources for shared infrastructure like hatcheries and processing plants.
Even more damaging is the unhealthy rivalry, finger-pointing, and isolated efforts that undermine collective progress.
Rather than pulling together for sector-wide transformation, actors often prioritize short-term individual gains over long-term collective prosperity. This attitude is self-defeating.
Reviving the poultry industry will require more than just money—it demands unity, vision, and the willingness of industry players to sacrifice short-term personal gains for long-term sectoral growth.
Strong associations can lead the charge toward joint investment, self-regulation, and robust policy influence. Ghana’s poultry sector can rise again, but only if its farmers learn to act not just as competitors—but as collaborators in a shared future.
7. Dumping of imports
Exporters from the EU, USA and Brazil benefit from agricultural subsidies and offload surplus by-products, chicken parts—mainly back, thigh, wings, etc—into Ghana at prices well below production cost. This constitutes economic dumping and threatens the survival of local producers.
Can you believe Ghana has started importing frozen Chicken from China?
A new vision for poultry in Ghana
1. Creating a competitive local ecosystem
• Feed production and input financing: Invest in local feed production, expand soya and maize cultivation, and promote input financing schemes tailored for smallholder producers.
• Establish a national breeding programme:Develop a viable national breeding farm to supply fertilized eggs to hatcheries, reducing dependence on expensive imports.
• Strengthen hatcheries and brooding systems: Certify and upgrade hatcheries; train farmers in biosecurity, brooding, and flock management to reduce mortality and improve productivity.
• Processing and cold chain infrastructure: Support the establishment of certified abattoirs and cold storage facilities through PPPs. Improve packaging, branding, and certification to meet consumer expectations.
• Skills development and innovation: Build national training programs in poultry management, veterinary services, and agribusiness. Integrate ICT tools for farm management, disease surveillance, and market linkage.
2. Adopting a strategic managed trade policy
• Import controls and tariff adjustments: Implement phased restrictions on imports while supporting local capacity development. Introduce tariffs where necessary to discourage dumping.
• Enforce quality standards: Strengthen food safety, traceability, and labeling laws for imported poultry.
• Public Procurement for Local Chicken: Mandate public institutions—schools, prisons, hospitals, and military— to procure only locally produced poultry products.
• Establish a poultry sector coordination council: Bring together stakeholders from government, industry, academia, and donor agencies to develop a long-term poultry sector master plan.
3. Financing the poultry transformation
• Blended Finance Mechanisms: Utilise partial risk guarantees, concessional loans, and matching grants to crowd-in private investment into poultry production and processing.
• De-Risking Investment: Partner with banks, rural financial institutions, and development finance institutions (DFIs) to offer tailored financial products for poultry value chain actors.
4. Branding, marketing, and consumer awareness
• “Eat Ghana Chicken” campaign: Launch a nationwide branding and awareness campaign that promotes locally raised chicken based on taste, nutrition, and job creation.
• Modern market access: Support producer cooperatives and SMEs to access modern retail channels and institutional markets.
5. Empowering women and youth
• Entrepreneurship support: Design specific support programs for youth and women in poultry agribusiness—covering feed production, hatcheries, vet services, processing, and distribution.
• Access to land and finance: Work with local authorities and financial institutions to ensure equitable access to land, capital, and inputs for youth and women entrepreneurs.
Call to Action
Ghana’s poultry sector does not need more short-term political promises or piecemeal interventions. It needs bold, consistent, and coordinated action. With more than 76% of Ghanaians expressing a preference for local chicken, the market opportunity is evident.
It is time for the government, private sector, development partners, and financial institutions to rally behind a national poultry development agenda. By reducing import dependency, boosting local production, and creating sustainable jobs, Ghana can reclaim its rightful place as a poultry powerhouse in the sub-region.
Conclusion
The decline of Ghana’s poultry sector is not irreversible. Through bold leadership, strategic investments, and fair-trade policy, we can transform the sector into a vibrant engine of economic growth, youth employment, and food sovereignty.
Let us feed Ghana with Ghanaian chicken—nutritious, proudly local, and economically empowering.
The writer is an agribusiness and investment strategist with over 20 years of experience in banking, impact investment and agricultural finance, poultry and crops value chain development, and policy advocacy.
Email: raymonddenteh1@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/raymond-denteh-1768aa8
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This is the first article in a series exploring practical solutions to the poultry sector’s decline.