The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has inaugurated a 2,400-tonne cold storage facility for poultry at Kpone Katamanso in the Greater Accra Region, marking a significant step toward strengthening Ghana’s poultry industry and promoting sustainable agricultural growth.
The initiative is a collaboration between Beacon Source and Services Ltd and Bostex Trading GmbH of Germany, supported by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
It is designed to boost poultry value addition and reinforce Ghana’s agricultural value chain. The cold storage facility is expected to improve product preservation, stabilise supply, and expand market access for local farmers.
During the ceremony last Thursday, the minister also cut the sod for a poultry value-added processing project, which aligns with the government’s Poultry Revitalisation Programme, aimed at reducing reliance on imports while supporting local production and processing.
“These are not merely physical structures; they are strategic investments that align directly with the Feed Ghana Programme,” Mr Opoku said.
He highlighted that poultry had been identified as a high-impact opportunity for import substitution, job creation, and agro-industrial growth.
The minister disclosed that Ghana spent US$300–400 million annually on imported poultry, a situation he described as economically unsustainable.
He emphasised the need to rebuild domestic capacity across the entire poultry value chain, encompassing feed production, farming, processing, cold storage, and marketing.
He said to address sector challenges, the government had launched the Poultry Industry Revitalisation Sub-Programme under Feed Ghana, targeting high feed costs, weak value-chain coordination, limited access to quality day-old chicks, inadequate veterinary services, and insufficient processing and cold-chain infrastructure.
Landmark
The Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Source and Services Ltd, Fidelis Kpeglar, described the occasion as a landmark moment in Ghana’s agro-industrial development.
He said the milestones reflected Beacon’s commitment to local value creation, industrial capacity expansion, and skills development.
Mr Kpeglar noted that the success of the initiative was made possible through the partnership with Bostex GmbH, which had strengthened Ghana’s cold-chain infrastructure and supports national priorities such as food security, job creation and sustainable economic growth.
The Managing Director of Bostex Trading GmbH, Holger Inselmann, stated that the company was proud to support both phases of the cold storage expansion and the poultry processing facility, describing the project as a deliberate transition from import dependence to local value creation, industrial capability development, and skills enhancement.
The German Ambassador to Ghana, Frederik Landshöft, highlighted the project’s importance for food security, industrial development and resilient supply chains.
24-Hour Economy
The Presidential Adviser on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development, Augustus Tanoh, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening poultry production and processing to reduce import dependence.
He said Ghana imported GH¢2.58 billion worth of frozen poultry products in 2024, underscoring the scale of domestic demand that could be met locally.
The adviser explained that the government’s integrated value-chain strategy—linking feed production, hatcheries, farming, processing, and cold-chain infrastructure—is central to the 24-Hour Economy and Feed Ghana programmes, supporting job creation, price stabilisation, and positioning Ghana for regional poultry exports.
Writer’s email:
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh