Ghana's Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has announced that plans are well underway to distribute local poultry to Members of Parliament as part of a government initiative to boost domestic chicken production.

The announcement was made during an address to Parliament’s Committee on Assurances. Mr Opoku explained that the distribution is tied to the Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti programme, a flagship government intervention designed to increase local poultry farming and decrease the nation's reliance on imported chicken.

Beneficiaries Consuming Rather Than Rearing

While outlining the initiative, the minister disclosed that the backyard poultry project has hit a snag with some of its current participants. Instead of keeping the distributed birds to breed and build commercial stock, some beneficiary households have been slaughtering and eating them.

Mr Opoku stated that this practice directly undermines the core objectives of the programme, which was designed to help citizens establish sustainable livestock businesses.

"The purpose of the programme was for farmers to 'rear and reinvest,'" the minister noted, clarifying that this trend applies to some participants rather than all. "Some even sent me videos saying, 'Honourable, we're eating everything'."

Focus on Business, Not Immediate Consumption

The minister urged beneficiaries to treat the poultry as a long-term economic asset rather than a short-term food supply, emphasising that the government does not support the immediate consumption of breeding birds.

"This is not meant for that immediate consumption," Mr Opoku stated. "We just wanted people to rear them, sell, and reinvest, so it becomes businesses. We don't encourage that, we wanted them to capitalise on this to earn something for their livelihood."

However, he added that the practice still offers a minor benefit to the broader campaign.

"If that is what they have decided to do, at the national level in aggregation it also helps," the minister said. "If they are able to build a good taste for locally produced poultry, that is a big plus for us."