The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has announced that it has stepped up the production of maize and soya beans to reduce poultry feed cost to cushion local farmers to produce poultry at competitive prices.

Sector Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto told Parliament on Thursday in Accra that, the Ministry is also teaming up with the Ministry of Special Initiative to construct 80 warehouses this year, as part of measures to adequately and appropriately store the grains produced.

In an answer to a question asked by Alhaji Yusif Sulemana, MP for Bole Bamboi Constituency, who wanted to know what the Ministry was putting in place to revitalize the poultry industry, Dr Akoto gave positive indications of efforts since 2017 to find solutions to the problems facing the poultry industry.

Dr Akoto noted that excessive importation of poultry products into the country is a source of great concern to the Government.

He said major stakeholders of the poultry value chain in Ghana have put forward a proposal for the revitalization of the poultry industry, and the proposal is currently being considered by the Economic Management Team of the Government.

The Food and Agriculture Minister announced that the Ministry is preparing to launch the livestock version of the Planting for Food and Jobs flagship programme, to be called” Rearing for Food and Jobs” in 2019, with the expectation that “ this campaign will aim at a sustainable development of the poultry industries and other livestock.”

Aside collaborations with stakeholders in the poultry industry in the Czech Republic and Morocco to improve the sector, the Government of Ghana is gearing up to set up a poultry slaughtering and processing plant at Dormaa in the Brong Ahafo Region, the hub of the poultry industry in Ghana.