The Accra Abattoir Company Limited (AACL) has reviewed its strategy under which GH₵2.8 million has been earmarked by shareholders to implement an action plan to make the company more competitive to lead the meat industry in Ghana. Dr Osei Agyeman-Bonsu, the Board Chairman of AACL, made this known at the first ever Annual General Meeting (AGM) since the company was established in 1996 in Accra on Thursday. He explained that the successful implementation of the Action Plan would influence the entire value chain from the farm gate to the consumer kitchen. He said some of the activities under the new plan were that animal products that leave AACL would be stamped with a certified consumable edible ink before landing in the consumer’s kitchen. Dr Agyeman-Bonsu said the AACL would also construct Biogas System to replace the waste management to reduce the cost of gas as well as the electrical generator to provide business continuity and also procure and install a cold storage facility. The Board Chairman said the AACL would also customise the conveyor belt system to allow full participation of the butchers to stand and work on the line at vantage points in all markets in Accra and beyond. He said the Abattoir would acquire a land to raise cattle and their kraal to enable veterinary officers to examine the animals before they were slaughtered and sold to the public. Dr Agyeman-Bonsu said providing slaughtering meat services required the use of approved meat delivery vans to convey carcass to certified butcher tables at major markets, super markets and cold stores in Accra. The Managing Director of the AACL, Mr Kwabena Osei-Boaten said access to finance was crucial in any business endeavour and there was the need to build a trustfworthy relationship so that people could confidently rely only on AACL meat. He said relying solely on the slaughtering services for butchers to generate enough income to meet cost had proved to be challenging. “The major strategy to get the company out of its present heavy indebtedness is to complement the slaughtering services with the production of various types of meat products to sell to the public,” he said. Mr Boaten said it was important AACL to buy animals at a reasonable cost to produce meat and its products, provide professional training in the processing of the meat and the revival of an aggressive marketing and sales department to focus purely on meat production. He said the AACL had approached the Accra Metropolitan and Tema Municipal assemblies to take all measures to enforce their bye-laws to ensure that cattle, sheep and goats were slaughtered only at approved hygienic places.