Sack agric minister or be remembered for collapsing poultry industry-Farmers to president Akufo-Addo
The Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) in the Northern Region have asked the president to sack Minister of Food and Agriculture if he does not want his regime to be tainted as the one that collapsed poultry industry in Ghana.
The farmers said the president has an option not to leave a legacy of collapsing poultry industry or will forever be remembered as a president who superintended over the collapse of the industry.
According to the poultry farmers, Dr Owusu Afriyei Akoto utterances towards poultry industry suggest to them that, he has no interest in the sector and must be removed by the president and replace by someone who will not discriminate any sector in the agric value chain.
The poultry farmers cited the agric minister’s respond on the floor of Parliament to a question from the member of parliament for Wa East, Dr Godfred Seidu Jasaw on steps the ministry is taking to negotiate with financial institutions pertaining to poultry industry.
The agric minister, the poultry farmers said answer was just no without any further comments. This, the poultry farmers noted was unfortunate, disrespect and lack of commitment on the part of the minister and are therefore asking the president ensure Dr Owusu Afriyei is step aside for a more unifying minister to handle the industry.
Addressing news conference at the MOFA premises in Tamale, regional chairman of the association Mr George Dassah farmers said successive governments have neglected poultry industry. The cost of producing a layer bird from day old point of lay according to the farmers has more than double due to astronomical increase of feed cost which constitute about 65% of the total cost production.
Mr Dassah said added within the space of about 12 months, the cost of the main ingredient of feed component, especially maize has risen to from 130gh/100kg to between 320 to 350gh/kg depending on where the farmer is getting it.
Is it not curious that through the government flagship program Planting for Food and Jobs (PJF), costs of inputs are subsidized using the Ghanaian tax payer’s money, the program became successful because maize farmers had more produced yield than before, yet poultry farmers find it difficult to get the commodity that occasioned the issuing of permit by government through the ministry of agric to import 60,000metric tons of yellow maize? Mr Dassah quizzed.
One of the contributory factors he stated was also how some neighboring countries were allowed to come in and buy a lot of maize, all in the name ECOWAS protocol, Trade liberalization and the quest for foreign exchange.
Increase of eggs price
The rising cost feeing the farmers compels them to come out with new price for the various sizes of crates to enable remain in business. An average layer lays about 24 eggs in a month and 30 eggs make a crate, the 6 eggs remaining will also take another one week of feeding. Mr Dassah explained to get a crate of eggs, the bird needs to feed for 37 days and the current cost of feeding makes a bird to spends about 50gp a day amounting to GHC 18.50
Mr Dassah appealed to major stakeholders to reason with them to increase egg prices. The new price pegged large GHC 24.000, medium GHC 22.00, small 20 cedis, pullets 18 cedis and unsorted 22 cedis.
