President John Dramani Mahama has inspected ongoing works on the Poultry, Meat and Feed Processing Plant at Bechem in the Ahafo Region, as part of his Resetting Ghana tour, Ahafo Region edition.

The President, who cut the sod for the project about a year ago, expressed satisfaction with the progress of work, which he was told had reached about 50 per cent.

“When you award a contract to someone for a project like this, there is a need to monitor it and inspect it from time to time.

So, this visit is to monitor the progress of the factory.

As I came, I have seen that they are about 50 per cent into it, and I must commend Architecture and Engineering Services Limited (AESL), the consultants for the project,” President Mahama said.

He stated that when completed, the factory would position Bechem as the chicken capital of Ghana.

“When this factory is completed, Bechem will become the chicken capital of Ghana, and so I encourage all the youth in and around Bechem to take up poultry farming, take advantage of the Feed Ghana programme.

“Along the poultry value chain, the youth could even buy processed chicken from the factory for sale in other parts of the country,” he added.

Briefing the President, the Minister of Agriculture, Eric Opoku, said “work is around 50 per cent, and we don’t have any certificate that has not been paid. Even though we encountered some delays, now everything is paid.”

He said the contractor had given the assurance that by the close of the first quarter of 2027, the project would be completed and operationalised.

Mr Opoku said the plant would have two processing lines, including one for layers with a combined capacity of 6,000 eggs per hour.

He explained that when operational, the factory would require a constant supply of chickens to keep running for 24 hours, hence plans were afoot for the facility to enter into contract agreements with farmers across the Ashanti, Bono, Upper East and other regions for the off-taking and processing of their produce for the market.

The factory, he added, would also provide cold storage for the farmers.

Poultry production rises to 22%

Touting the gains of the ‘Nkokɔ Nketenkete’ programme, the Agric Minister disclosed that the country’s domestic poultry production had increased from 4.7 per cent, which the government inherited, to 22 per cent as of May 2026, describing the feat as unprecedented in the history of the country.

President John Dramani Mahama inspected the CHPS Compound at Ahyiaem

“This has never happened in the history of our country,” he said, adding that the programme had also resulted in a sustained glut of eggs in the country for almost one year.

“We want to ensure sustainability of the programme, which is making significant impact in the poultry sector of our country,” Mr Opoku said.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture recounted that following a directive by the President, he and the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry travelled to Burkina Faso for negotiations to export Ghana’s eggs, and upon the conclusion of talks, over 20 trucks of eggs that had been stranded at the borders were allowed entry.

“Since then, Ghana has been exporting eggs to Burkina Faso.

But that is insufficient to clear the glut that we are witnessing now. We are now going to implement the directive that you issued to us that we should add eggs to the School Feeding Programme for all schools under the programme.

We are working with the Minister of Education for implementation,” he stated.

Mr Opoku stated that the evidence of the egg glut was visible on the streets, with sellers offering two eggs for GH¢5.

Feed, hatchery, trucks

The Minister of Food and Agriculture further disclosed that the Bechem facility would include a feed production component, with the shells from the processing lines to be used in feed production, as well as a hatchery to produce day-old chicks for distribution to farmers to sustain the programme.

Additionally, Mr Opoku said two trucks were being procured under the contract for the distribution of packaged and branded broilers to the market.

He said a private operator would manage the facility to maximise efficiency, in line with the President’s directive.

Inspection

President Mahama also inspected a number of projects, including a CHPS Compound at Ahyiaem in the Tano North Municipality.