Agrihouse Foundation has made a passionate appeal to the state to declare July 1, Republic Day as Ghana Poultry Day.
According to the Foundation, Ghana Poultry Day would help project opportunities within the poultry value chain just like Valentine was declared Chocolate Day to promote patronage for locally produced chocolate,
Executive Director of Agrihouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyea Akosa, made the appeal in an interview at the launch of the third edition of the Ghana Chicken Festival.
The festival, which is in its third year, is envisioned to promote the production, marketing and consumption of local chicken for sustainable growth of the industry, creating more jobs and growing the Ghanaian economy.
She stated that the key agenda for the 2023 Chicken Festival is to lobby the government and all key state decision-makers to declare 1st July as Ghana Poultry Day.
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She argued there is a model of success to look at and that is Valentine’s Day being declared as Chocolate Day.
She said, “You’ve seen how the focus has changed and how more opportunities have been created when it comes to patronage and consumption of locally produced chocolate.”
“That’s what we are really driving at; that is the kind of attention we want to also drive towards local poultry.”
Agrihouse Foundation is an NGO that is proactively focused on being an instrument of change, growth and sustained development, especially in the area of Ghana’s primary interest, agriculture.
The flagship projects of the Foundation include the Annual Pre-harvest Exhibition and Conference, which is now in its 13th year; the Agric Students Career Guidance and Mentorship Dialogue (AG-STUD); the Livestock, Poultry and Fisheries Trade Show (LiPF); the Women in Food and Agriculture Leadership Conference & Expo (WOFAGRIC) and the Gold in the soil awards among others.
According to Alberta Akosa, the importation rate of frozen chicken is too high and noted AgriHouse is not calling for a total elimination as that would pose a challenge for the country but stressed the need for steady growth of the local industry whereby within the next three to ten years, there will drastic reduction of importation.
“This will open opportunities for the teeming, innovative and creative youth within the poultry value chain.”
“We are trying to create employment within the sector and I think one key area to look at is the poultry value chain and the opportunities therein.”
Speaking on the Chicken Festival, Alberta Akosa explained the event would be used to also promote the nutritional and medicinal values of local chicken that people are not aware of and also provide opportunities for participants to sample local chicken dishes.
She added that the agenda for the big launch this year is to chart a path of advocating for the Ghana Chicken Festival to be declared Ghana Poultry Day.
