Author: James Appiakorang Jnr.
The newly appointed Vice President of Confederation for the Development of Poultry in Africa (CADA), Mr. John Bewuah Edusei has advised Ghanaian leaders to stop playing games and politics with the agricultural sector of the country.
He said Ghana will have no alternative but to go through Hunger and famine if his advice is not heeded.
Quoting from the 2022 United Nations Population Division forecast, Mr. Bewuah Edusei was alarmed that a great famine beckons the country if the leadership do not take some pragmatic steps in domesticating agricultural products.
“The time to plan is now. We either plan towards 2050 today and stop the GAMES and POLITICS or be ready to face the consequences of our actions tomorrow.”
“Nobody knows when the next Disaster will strike this world, we need to plan aheard and ensure food security before it is too late. If dry Morocco and Burkina can grow their food requirements, Green Ghana must do better in Maize and Chicken Production.”
Mr. Bewuah Adusei made these remarks during a press conference in Kumasi on Friday, May 26, 2023 after returning from the CADA conference in Morocco.
CADA
The purpose of CADA is to Promote the Poultry industry in Africa, through Training and Defending the interest of African Poultry Player through strategic programs. It also aims to promote and develop Morden Poultry Farming. This materialises the common Vision of establishing a systematic growth in African Poultry, all over the Continent.
UN forecast
The UN Population Division forecasted that the future population of the world’s countries, based on current demographic trends, will reach a population of 9.7 billion people in 2050, and 10.3 Billion by the 2100. The greater portion of this population growth will happen in the Continent of Africa.
Worries
According to him, Ghana will have to do more to feed its Citizenry as the forecast lays emphasis on Animal based protein, especially from poultry products.
“Poultry will have to play a major role going forward. But where are the Poultry Farms today? It becomes obligatory for us to have a systematic and sustainable development Poultry growth plan. Today as we speak, all our major layer farms are down and our Broiler Production is below 2% of our National requirements.” He lamented.
The new CADA Vice President further revealed that some farms have declined from a capacity of 800,000 Birds to less than 20,000 describing it as worrying, but “the worse part of it, is the exceptionally high job loses.”
Causes
The number one contribution to the destruction of the Poultry industry he noted, is the High cost of Maize. As at 2016, a 50KG bag of Maize sold for Ghc40, Today that same weight of Corn has gone up astronomically to a cost of Ghc280, leaving Poultry Farmers with no option but to close down.
According to him, a major reason of this high cost of Maize is simply exportation of the product which creates shortages and hence high pricing.
“Did we subsidise the Production of Maize, Rice and Soya with almost 1 Billion Gh Cedis ? The planting for food and jobs program increased corn production, but the successes of the planting for food and jobs would be useless unless it is linked up with a robust plan for pricing, storage and marketing. It is time to treat MAIZE LIKE COCOA. It is time to buy the product at a good price from the farmers, store them in our Silos and market it all year round.” He maintained.
Unemployment
Mr. Bewuah Edusei also lamented that Ghana’s chicken import has almost doubled from $375 million in 2018, noting that government has failed in curbing the high importation figures leading to rampant job losses locally.
