Ali Muhammed, the CEO of the Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association, has blamed inadequate planning and a lack of technical training for recipients for the problems with the government’s flagship Nkoko Nkitinkiti program.
He stated that despite the initiative’s good intentions and goal of increasing domestic poultry production and lowering dependency on imported chicken, its execution lacked the crucial technical assistance required for success.
Speaking on Saturday, Mr. Muhammad said that although the organization had provided beneficiaries free technical training and advice, the implementing authorities had not accepted it.
His remarks come after Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, revealed to Parliament’s Assurances Committee last Thursday that some recipients had eaten the chicks provided by the program rather of raising them.
Mr. Muhammad explained that many beneficiaries lacked the fundamental understanding needed for chicken farming, characterising the situation as regrettable but not unexpected.
“We wanted to know who the beneficiaries were so we could train and prepare them before the birds were distributed. We offered free technical support, but nobody engaged us,” he said.
He said that the program’s initial phase was implemented without sufficient planning, putting beneficiaries in danger of unnecessary problems.
He said that although the program itself was still praiseworthy, its implementation required immediate revision.
He asserted that the initiative might still accomplish its goals with improved planning and the participation of business leaders.
Mr. Muhammad asked the government to acknowledge poultry farmers as important partners, adding that the association, which has been in operation for more than 45 years, had the knowledge to support the initiative.
He reaffirmed the association’s willingness to work with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to make the project stronger.
Speaking before the Assurances Committee of Parliament, Mr. Opoku admitted that while the scheme had increased local chicken production, some beneficiaries had not used the birds as planned.
Some had even sent him recordings of themselves devouring the chicks, he said.
Inadequate market access for mature birds, especially in the Eastern Region, was another significant issue mentioned by the minister.
Source: newsthemegh.com