President John Dramani Mahama has cut sod for the construction of a major poultry, meat, and feed processing facility in Bechem in the Ahafo Region, describing it as a flagship investment under the Feed Ghana Programme, and a key pillar in the government’s agenda to industrialise agriculture and strengthen national food security.

Addressing the ceremony, President Mahama said the project represented a decisive step toward building an integrated and self-sustaining poultry value chain — one that empowers farmers, reduces Ghana’s heavy dependence on imports, and creates high-quality jobs for young people. Ghana currently spends between 300 and 400 million dollars annually on poultry imports, a trend the president said must change through strategic local investments.

The facility forms part of an end-to-end value chain approach aimed at boosting domestic poultry production, expanding processing and storage capacity, reducing feed costs — which account for the largest expense in poultry farming — and offering training and extension services to enhance industry skills.

President Mahama noted that the project directly tackled the structural challenges that have long held back the sector and was among several anchor initiatives designed to reposition Ghana as a competitive force in the poultry and livestock industry.

The Bechem poultry, meat and feed processing facility is being developed as a state-of-the-art agro-industrial hub. It will house a modern feed processing plant, a hygienic meat processing unit meeting both domestic and export standards, a training academy for young farmers and technical personnel, residential facilities to support long-term training, as well as cold storage and warehouse infrastructure to safeguard product quality and reduce losses. The president described it as not just an industrial plant, but a centre of excellence for poultry development, innovation, research, and agribusiness incubation.

He added that the facility will attract significant private sector investment and advance rural industrialisation, with similar processing plants planned in other regions to support increased poultry output under the Nkokor Nkitinkiti project.

According to President Mahama, the benefits of the project were extensive. Farmers will gain access to affordable feed, lowering production costs and enhancing competitiveness. Processing units will reduce post-production losses while ensuring food safety and availability. From production to processing, packaging, distribution, and retailing, thousands of jobs are expected to be created. The facility will also guarantee a reliable offtake system for both smallholder and commercial farmers.

He noted that the investment aligned with Ghana’s national goal of dramatically reducing poultry imports and retaining more economic value locally. It also reflects the government’s commitment to building a functional 24-hour agro-industrial economy.

The project is one of several interventions under the Feed Ghana Poultry Transformation Plan, which includes farmer-to-table initiatives supporting 50 commercial farmers and 500 SMEs.

President Mahama said these interventions will together create a complete national poultry ecosystem capable of restoring Ghana’s leadership in poultry production across West Africa. He further announced that the School Feeding Programme had been directed to procure locally produced poultry to help secure a stable market for farmers. He added that a Schools Poultry and Livestock Project would soon be launched to encourage schools and institutions to operate their own farms for both consumption and commercial purposes.

He noted that the choice of Bechem and the Ahafo Region for the launch was deliberate, highlighting the region’s growing importance as a dynamic food production zone with strong links to major poultry hubs in Bono and Ashanti. The facility, he said, will function as a central processing and training corridor supporting surrounding districts and strengthening regional integration in the poultry and livestock value chain.

Construction of the facility is expected to be completed within 12 months.

President Mahama expressed gratitude to the minister for food and agriculture, local authorities, development partners, private investors, farmers’ cooperatives, and all stakeholders for their dedication to the project. He emphasised that its success would require discipline, transparency, effective management, and strong community support.

He concluded by reaffirming government’s commitment to building a Ghana that produced what it consumes, added value to what it grows, and drove job creation through rural industrialisation.

The president then officially broke ground for the construction of the Poultry, Meat, and Feed Processing Facility at Bechem in the Ahafo Region.