Gov’t targets poultry self-sufficiency to stablise food prices

Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, says achieving poultry self-sufficiency is key to stabilising food prices, as he defends claims of sharp reductions in food inflation over the past year.

He made the remarks on TV3’s Hot Issues programme on Sunday afternoon while responding to concerns about the slow pace of price reductions at the markets.

He said that although food inflation has not fallen as sharply as some other indicators, the overall decline remains significant.

“There was a point under the NPP, I think 2023, where food inflation was around 61%,” he stated, adding, “Today, it’s around 9% or so.”

According to him, the data points to a clear improvement, even if the relief is not fully felt by consumers.

“There has been a substantial reduction, and it is clear,” Mr Kwakye Ofosu said.

On complaints that traders have failed to reflect declining inflation in their prices, he referenced parliamentary engagements with the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA).

“We challenged them in Parliament,” he said, explaining that the Economy Committee and Finance Committee summoned the association over the issue.

He noted that GUTA provided evidence of widespread price adjustments. “GUTA was able to show that the prices of up to 4,500 different items had been reduced,” he said, while acknowledging that some traders may not have reduced prices to expected levels.

“There is no doubt that there have been reductions in prices,” he stressed, adding that more work must be done to ensure consumers feel the impact.

Mr Kwakye Ofosu said sustainable food price reductions will depend largely on agricultural investment.

“There must be some investment in agriculture to make food available,” he said, arguing that increased supply would drive competition and lower prices.

He cited budget allocations for farmer services centres, which will distribute thousands of farm implements to support food production nationwide.

Using poultry as a case study, he said Ghana is currently about 12% self-sufficient. “The objective is to ensure that by the close of this year, it is taken to 28%,” he said, with plans to exceed 60% from 2027.

He also pointed to the Nkokɔ Nketenkete Programme, noting that “about three million birds have been distributed across the country,” alongside the commissioning of a meat and poultry processing factory in Bechem to support farmers and stabilise supply.