Gov’t targets bold reforms to slash $300m poultry import bill by half – MyJoyOnline

The government has announced measures to reduce the country’s huge import expenditure by 50% within four years.

This strategic initiative will not only ensure food security but also strengthen local production and stabilise the ailing cedi.

Economic analysts note that Ghana’s import bill reached $10.2 billion in 2024, with food products constituting 28% of total imports.

The new measures specifically target major import items, especially poultry, which swallows a whopping $300 million in imports.

The Minister in charge of Special Agricultural Initiatives, Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor, who was a guest on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday, April 15, outlined the interventions.

“We are looking at significantly reducing the import bill by half in the medium term, and we hope to be able to do significantly well in the next two medium terms,” he declared boldly.

Addressing the prospects of chicken consumption in neighbouring countries, Dr Otokunor was optimistic that with the right measure in place, Ghana could become a huge exporter of livestock in the next few years.

“If government is able to drive investment into the production of poultry products, we will be able to do well beyond import substitution and take the export market in the subregion,” he stated.

Presently, local producers contribute a meagre 10%, with the rest supplied by the Netherlands, Brazil, the USA and other markets.

High cost of production, financial constraints, infrastructure deficit and disease outbreak have worsened the situation, but the government has assured Ghanaians of better days for the agriculture sector.

The incumbent administration unveiled the new agriculture initiative dubbed “Feed Ghana Programme” to facilitate a transformation of the country’s agricultural sector.

The programme was officially introduced in Techiman in the Bono East Region on Saturday, April 12, 2025.

The initiative seeks to boost agricultural production to feed the population, provide raw materials to feed agro-processing factories and create jobs for the teeming youth.