Agriculture Minister-nominee, Eric Opoku, has raised concerns about the dire state of Ghana’s poultry sector, describing it as "in comatose" and in urgent need of resuscitation.

Speaking on the sector's challenges, he cited data from the 2024 budget, specifically paragraph 402, which revealed that Ghana’s total poultry consumption in 2022 was estimated at 324,000 metric tons.

Of this, only 15,000 metric tons, constituting a mere 4.6%, were produced locally, with the remainder imported to meet domestic demand.

“This clearly indicates that the poultry sector is in comatose and needs resuscitation,” he stated during his vetting on Monday, January 20.

He also outlined plans to revamp the poultry sector through targeted initiatives aimed at increasing production and reducing food prices.

He stressed the critical role of affordable poultry feed in addressing food inflation and stabilising the prices of eggs and poultry products.

“We are going to focus on the production of poultry feed to make it more affordable, which will ultimately help bring down food prices in Ghana,” he stated.

He highlighted a proposed “Poultry Farm-to-Table Programme” in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manifesto, aimed at closing the gap between poultry demand and supply.

The programme, he explained, will provide financial resources to poultry farmers, enabling them to expand their operations and increase production.

“A key aspect of this programme is working with the Poultry Farmers Association to provide financial support.

"This will help farmers bridge the huge gap between demand and supply, while also focusing on making poultry feed more affordable,” Mr. Opoku added.

Citing a recent Ghana Statistical Service report, Mr Opoku noted that rising food inflation, which has climbed from 23% to 27.8%, is partly driven by the increasing cost of eggs, stressing the urgency of investing in the poultry sector to curb this trend.