The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has disclosed that Ghana spends approximately $350 million annually on poultry imports, a situation he says continues to undermine local producers and drain the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
According to the Minister, Ghana’s heavy dependence on imported chicken highlights the urgent need to increase domestic poultry production to strengthen food security, create jobs and reduce the country’s growing import bill.
Speaking on the future of the poultry industry beyond the Nkoko Nkitinkiti project on Friday, July 17, 2026, Mr Opoku said the government was determined to reverse the trend through policies and programmes aimed at boosting local production and making Ghana more self-sufficient.
He noted that despite Ghana’s favourable climate and significant agricultural potential, local poultry farmers continue to face challenges, including high feed costs, limited access to financing, inadequate processing facilities and competition from cheaper imported products.
The Minister stressed that addressing these challenges would help expand the poultry industry, improve farmers’ incomes and reduce the country’s dependence on imports.
“As we speak, on an annual basis, we spend $350 million United States dollars to import poultry products into Ghana. That huge amount of money is creating jobs in those countries at the expense and peril of the youth of our nation,” he said in an interview with Accra-based Joy FM.
Mr Opoku explained that increasing local poultry production would not only conserve foreign exchange but also create jobs across the value chain, including feed production, hatcheries, processing, transportation and marketing.
He said the government was working with stakeholders in the agricultural sector to improve productivity by enhancing access to quality day-old chicks, affordable feed, veterinary services and modern farming technologies.
The Minister also called on financial institutions to provide poultry farmers with accessible credit, noting that investment in the sector could generate significant economic returns.
He disclosed that after supporting households during the first phase of the Nkoko Nkitinkiti project, the next phase would focus on medium-scale poultry producers to help them expand their operations.
“Some of them are able to do from 500 birds to about 3,000 birds. They need the capacity to expand, and it is the duty of government, as we pursue increased production, to give them that support to enable them to expand,” he stressed.
Mr Opoku further urged Ghanaians to patronise locally produced poultry products, saying increased demand would encourage producers to expand their operations and improve quality standards.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to transforming agriculture into a major driver of economic growth, adding that revitalising the poultry industry remained a key priority in efforts to reduce food imports and strengthen Ghana’s agricultural sector.
The Minister expressed confidence that sustained investment and collaboration between the government and the private sector could significantly reduce Ghana’s reliance on imported poultry while creating thousands of jobs and improving national food security.
