The Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association (GAPFA), through its President, Michael Nyarko–Ampem, has called on government to expedite the processes, legal and otherwise, to aid in ensuring quality day-old chicks are produced locally, saying it is critical to the performance of the livestock sub-sector and has significant ramifications for the wider.
According to them, the demand for day-old chicks far exceeds the supply capacity of local hatcheries and still falls short despite significant volume of imports, with estimates suggesting Ghana imported 511,960 broiler day-old chicks and 7.1million layer day-old chicks in 2018.
Speaking at the 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Association, Mr. Nyarko–Ampem stated that investment in the sub-sector makes economic sense due the enormous gains that would be realised along the poultry value chain, as well as freeing up foreign exchange required for import of meat, which is in excess of US$350 million annually.
“We are appealing to government to hasten the process of providing the hatcheries. We want local hatcheries that are developed and certified to the standards that are used globally as we believe this would improve the quality of chicks we produce.
We will be able to stablise the prices of day old chicks for broilers and for layers and then have growth in our business especially as it will eliminate the risk of conveying day-old chicks from one destination to another and in turn free up much-need foreign exchange,” he said.
He further appealed for stability in the prices of commodities like maize and soya, which are used for feed, saying that the prices have recently seen upward adjustments, a deviation from the price stability initially offered by the Planting for Food and Jobs programme.
Financials
An examination of the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December, 2019 revealed that Gross Income for 2019 stood at GH¢50,617,324, up 11.23% from the 2018 value of GH¢45,505,728. Gross Operating Income grew by 67.13% from GH¢1,837,780 in 2018 to GH¢3,071,481 in 2019.
Also, Net Operating Income swelled to GH¢992,449 in 2019 from GH¢86,905, representing a 1,041.99% increase, with Net Operating Profit after Tax rising 1,481.79% from GH¢41,449 in 2018 to GH¢656,427.
Looking forward
As evidence of the resilience of the poultry sub-sector in general and the performance of GAPFA, in particular, Nyarko-Ampem revealed that the sales trend, particularly of feed, is moving upwards, with October recording a sale of some 65,000 bags of feed up from a projected 52,000 bags. This, he attributed to demand of the birds and expansionary measures being undertaken by members to meet demand.
He added that GAPFA is optimistic that the quality of its products will compete favorable when the AfCFTA is in motion and expressed hope that the Rule of Origin would be applied stringently, to avoid dumping of goods in the country, particularly from regions outside the Trade Area.
The association will, in two years, relocate its operations to Gomoa Akosti in the Central Region. Plans are far advanced to acquire and operate a Dalein Agriplan 15-ton-an-hour automated feedmill. A committee to enforce the full realisation of the vision has been put in place. The project is expected to cost US$3 million,” he revealed.
