The National Coordinator of the Feed Ghana Programme, Bright Demordzi, says the government's Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative is a strategic import substitution programme aimed at increasing domestic poultry production, creating jobs and reducing Ghana's dependence on imported chicken.

As part of the broader Feed Ghana Programme, the initiative seeks to revitalise backyard poultry farming while supporting small, medium and large-scale poultry producers to expand local production and strengthen the country's food security.

Speaking during a Joy Business roundtable discussion on the theme, "Can Ghana Feed Itself? The Future of Poultry Beyond Nkoko Nkitinkiti," Mr Demordzi said Ghana's poultry industry has enormous potential to generate employment and wealth if given the necessary support.

He attributed the country's growing dependence on imported poultry to the steady decline of backyard poultry farming over the years.

"Backyard farming has sustained this country for several years. Until recently, we were like that. But that component of our people in backyard farming has come down drastically," he said.

According to Mr Demordzi, the Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative is designed to reverse that trend by encouraging more households and farmers to take up poultry farming, thereby increasing local production.

"This concept of total revitalisation is addressing some of the key challenges in the poultry sector. The first objective is to ignite interest in poultry farming and bring Ghanaians back into backyard poultry production so that we can increase output," he said.

He noted that increasing domestic production would reduce the country's reliance on imported poultry and help conserve foreign exchange.

"It is a form of import substitution programme that we are implementing now," Mr Demordzi added.

Millions of birds distributed

Mr Demordzi said implementation of the programme is already underway, with millions of birds distributed to backyard poultry farmers and vulnerable groups across the country.

He disclosed that approximately 2.5 million birds have so far been distributed under the initiative, benefiting thousands of households.

"We have distributed birds to backyard groups across the country. We have done 11 regions, and in eight regions we have distributed 10,000 birds in each region," he said.

According to Mr Demordzi, the programme has also targeted vulnerable groups through dedicated support interventions, with about 4,000 families benefiting from the initiative.