President John Dramani Mahama last week launched the Nkoko Nketenkete household and backyard poultry initiative, a programme that arguably marks a bold and commendable step toward restoring the country’s long-lost poultry self-sufficiency.
The Daily Graphic sees the scale of the ambition as very significant. It includes three million birds for 60,000 households, an additional four million to be produced by 50 anchor farmers, feed support, technical assistance and a promise of a modern processing factory in Bechem in the Brong Region.
If implemented faithfully, this programme could finally break the decades-long dependence on imported chicken and ignite rural economic transformation.
But as history cautions, the country has never lacked beautifully articulated agricultural interventions.
What has been missing is disciplined execution, accountability and the political will to insulate programmes from the predatory practices that undermine them.
For the Nkoko Nketenkete initiative to succeed, we strongly believe every stakeholder must uphold a shared responsibility to protect the programme from avoidable pitfalls.
One of the most immediate threats to the success of this initiative is the dangerous tendency for officials and intermediaries to smuggle in unauthorised charges under the guise of “processing fees,” “registration fees,” or “transport support.”
This practice has crippled the impact of many well-intended programmes.
The moment access to the birds becomes monetised at the local level, the poorest households, the very targets of the intervention, will be excluded.
The government must, therefore, establish and publicise a zero-fee policy for accessing the birds and related inputs, backed by a dedicated hotline for reporting extortion.
District assemblies and traditional authorities must also be enlisted to monitor distribution transparently.
Any official caught demanding or accepting fees must be sanctioned swiftly and publicly.
Without strict enforcement, the programme risks becoming yet another opportunity for rent-seeking rather than national development.
Another issue not to forget is that many households have lost birds in previous initiatives because they lacked adequate training, proper housing, veterinary support, or markets.
The Nkoko Nketenkete initiative should thus ensure that the promised technical guidance is not a one-off activity delivered at the launch. Extension officers must be resourced and training should cover feed formulation, disease prevention, basic record-keeping and small-scale business management.
Again, veterinary services must be strengthened and affordable vaccines, timely treatment and routine monitoring must be guaranteed.
The establishment of mobile veterinary units at the district level would significantly reduce mortality.
Furthermore, access to affordable feed must be secured, as high feed costs are the single biggest obstacle in poultry production.
Last but not the least, market access must be assured.
President Mahama’s announcement of a processing plant in Bechem is promising, but similar facilities must be spread across regions to avoid bottlenecks.
Anchor farmers can serve as market coordinators, aggregating produce from households to ensure stable demand and predictable pricing.
Traditional authorities, assembly members, opinion leaders and farmer-based organisations must actively engage in local oversight.
Their cooperation will be essential in identifying serious and committed households, preventing corrupt allocation and ensuring fair distribution.
Beneficiaries themselves must treat the birds not as handouts but as assets for long-term income and nutrition. Proper care, strict hygiene, and adherence to technical advice will determine whether the programme becomes a revolving economic opportunity or a short-lived political event.
Sustainable poultry production cannot depend on government alone.
The private sector should be encouraged to invest, innovate and partner with the initiative.
The initiative holds immense promise.
It can reduce Ghana’s reliance on poultry imports, create thousands of jobs, empower women and youth, and strengthen food security.
But we would like to point out that its success hinges on disciplined execution, transparency and a relentless focus on ensuring beneficiaries thrive, not merely participation.
If all stakeholders commit to integrity, accountability and collaboration, this intervention could become one of the defining achievements of the country’s agricultural revival.
