The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has announced that the government is at an advanced stage of procuring birds for Members of Parliament (MPs) as part of efforts to encourage their participation in commercial poultry farming.
The initiative forms part of the government’s Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti programme, which aims to boost local poultry production, create jobs, and reduce Ghana’s reliance on imported poultry products.
Speaking before Parliament’s Committee on Assurances, Mr. Opoku disclosed that although he intends to formally table the proposal before Parliament, preparations for the programme are already well underway.
“I will soon table a proposal before Parliament for consideration. If Parliament agrees, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture will support all parliamentarians to go into poultry production,” he said.
According to the Minister, the Ministry has already begun procuring birds specifically for lawmakers and plans to distribute them once they are ready.
“Even though I’m calling it a proposal, plans are far advanced. The Ministry is procuring some quantity of birds, mainly for Members of Parliament.
As soon as the birds are ready, we will distribute them to the various places for Members of Parliament to be in that business,” he stated.
Mr. Opoku explained that the government believes MPs have the capacity and resources to expand poultry production on a larger scale once their interest is stimulated.
“Because we think that when it comes to capacity to scale up, you can do it. We only have to stimulate the interest in you. And I must say that it’s a very viable project,” he added.
The Minister, who described himself as a poultry farmer, encouraged lawmakers to embrace the opportunity, insisting that poultry farming is a profitable venture.
“I’m a poultry farmer myself. I started not long ago. If you know what I know, you would have run to be part of that process,” he remarked.
Mr. Opoku also revealed that a significant number of Ghana’s legislators are already engaged in agriculture.
“As we speak, about 67% of MPs in Ghana are all farmers. So when you see people in ties and think they are only making money from Parliament, you are deceiving yourself,” he said.
The Minister further expressed concern about the implementation of the backyard poultry component of the Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti programme, noting that some beneficiary households were consuming the birds distributed to them instead of raising them for breeding and production.
He stressed that the programme is intended to expand the country’s poultry industry by increasing production capacity, improving food security, and reducing the import bill for poultry products.
He expressed optimism that involving Members of Parliament would help demonstrate the commercial potential of poultry farming and encourage wider public participation in the sector.
CREDIT: MAVIS FANTEVI