ABSTRACT
Ghanaians love poultry products especially broilers. The consumption of chicken usually peaks during festive occasions like Easter, Christmas and New Year. However, the once vibrant poultry sector in Ghana has been affected negatively in recent times by the increasing importation of poultry products in the country just as the problem identification stated.
According to the EPAR briefs No. 83, May 2010, imports of poultry products have increased almost 400% since 2000, growing at an annual rate of 57%. Again, according to ISODEC, 2004, Ghana imported 26,000 tonnes of chicken in 2002, mostly from the EU. Two years later, the figure had almost doubled to about 40,000 tonnes.
The USDA’s Ghana Poultry Report Annual 22013 reported that Ghana’s domestic poultry sector has been on the decline, supplying only about 10% of the total poultry demand in the country. It also states that in the last 5 years, USA poultry exports to Ghana have increased to reach between 24 to 31 per cent of the market demand.
This research therefore seeks to identify the challenges and prospects of the poultry sector most especially of poultry farms in the Kumasi Metropolis. This dissertation employs the use of regression, t-test, bar and pie charts and line graphs in establishing the relationship between importation and output and also the cost of production and output.
Over the years, the government’s support for the sector has significantly reduced. In addition to that, Ghana’s domestic producers are disadvantaged in the pricing as compared to their foreign competitors. More so, Ghana is now the third highest importer of chicken according to USDA.
In conclusion, several recommendations were therefore made to help revive and maintain the poultry industry. Among the recommendations was the accurate documentation of the business activities to enable researches in their work towards helping the industry. Also, it was recommended that subsidies from Government should be made available to the poultry farmers. Then again, the farmers can also form a union to come together annually or semiannually to review and deliberate on what they can do themselves to help sustain the poultry industry. Finally, it was recommended that the domestic consumers can also contribute their part for the sustainability of the poultry industry by being patriotic and consume the locally produced broilers.
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APPENDIX I
APPENDIX II
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 1 classifications of respondents and sample size …………………………………………………………….. 7
Table 2 1 Sub-sectors under the three main sectors of the economy………………………………………………..17
Table 3 1 US Poultry Exports to Ghana in Quantity and value…………………………………………………………28
Table 3 2 Leading Chicken Imports in Africa (‘000 tonnes) ………………………………………………………. 30
Table 3 3 Age of Respondents ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32
Table 3 4 Percentage of respondents on the trend in importation ………………………………………………… 37
Table 3 5 Compilation of regression results …………………………………………………………………………….. 41
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2 1 Structure of the poultry industry in Ghana. ………………………………………………………………. 12
Figure 2 2 Conceptual flow diagram of the sectors of the Ghanaian Economy ……………………………… 19
Figure 3 1 US Poultry Exports to Ghana …………………………………………………………………………………………29
Figure 3 2 Gender of Respondents ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 31
Figure 3 3 Growth of the Poultry Industry ……………………………………………………………………………….. 33
Figure 3 4 The causes of growth level in the poultry industry. ……………………………………………………. 34
Figure 3 5 choice of poultry meat …………………………………………………………………………………………… 35
Figure 3 6 Factors that affect the purchase of poultry meat ………………………………………………………… 36
Figure 3 7 Trends in Importation ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 37
Figure 3 8 type of business firm……………………………………………………………………………………………… 38
Figure 3 9 type of poultry meat used ………………………………………………………………………………………. 39
Figure 3 10 firms’ engagement with local poultry farms ……………………………………………………………. 40
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
GDP – Gross Domestic Product
USAID – United States Agency for International Development
NGOs – Non-Governmental Organisations
FAO – Food and Agriculture Organisation (Ghana)
GoG – Government of Ghana
GBC – Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation
EPAR – Evans School Policy Analysis and Research
SRID – Statistics Research and Information Directorate
MOFA – Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Ghana)
ISODEC – Integrated Social Development Centre
USA – United States of America
EU – European Union
BICO – Bicontrol Technologies
FAS – Federation of American Scientist
WTO – World Trade Organisation
IEPA – Interim Economic Partnership Agreements
FSG – Food Security Ghana
GNAPF – Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers
HPAI – Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Agriculture in Ghana consists of a variety of agricultural products such as food and commercial crops, livestock and poultry and many others. It is an established economic sector, and provides employment on a formal and informal basis. Currently the economic contribution of agriculture to Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is 22.7%. However, Ghanaian agricultural output has consistently fallen since the 1960s.
(Agriculture in Ghana-Wikipedia).
Poultry is the raising of domesticated birds such as chicken, ducks, turkey, geese, guinea fowl, ostrich and many more, which are kept mainly for their eggs and meat or feathers. The poultry industry has contributed a lot to the global economy through the production of meat, eggs, as well as feathers for consumption and further production; employment of labour which serves as a source of income; and foreign exchange.
The poultry industry has contributed greatly to the economy of Ghana. However, the economy still relies heavily on poultry imports although Ghana has the potential to be self-sufficient in poultry production .According to Flake and Ashitey (2008), the poultry industry in Ghana grew rapidly during the 1980’s and 1990’s, developing into a vibrant agricultural sector and supplying about 95% of chicken meat and eggs in the country; this was due to the government’s initiative in the 1960’s to promote commercial poultry production as the greatest potential for addressing the acute shortfall in the supply of animal protein. The growth of the poultry industry was initially slow, due to irregular supply of imported day-old chicks and other inputs, and frequent outbreaks of poultry diseases which discouraged potential farmers.
Between 1996 and 2002, estimates available show that poultry production grew at an average annual rate of 11.0%. However, with trade liberalization, Ghana opened her markets to cheap poultry products and with the recent withdrawal of tariffs on poultry imports, the volume of poultry imports increased and this discouraged domestic production.
Currently, the growth of the domestic poultry industry continues to be slow. In 2011/2012, the supply of domestic poultry (broilers) was 10% of the total market demand. This is due to the high cost of production (drugs, feed), high cost and irregular supply of energy and limited knowledge of modern poultry management. Also, consumption pattern of poultry products (broilers) is highly skewed towards imported frozen broilers. In 2012, importation of frozen broilers accounted for 90% of consumption while the domestic poultry production accounted for about 10 %.( USDA GAIN, Ghana Poultry Report Annual 2013)
Moreover, successive governments have failed to come out with clear policies to protect the local poultry industry, hence, the flooding of the Ghanaian market with imported frozen broilers mainly from Brazil, United States of America and the European Union.
Darko Farms and company limited, which used to be the largest poultry farm in Ghana with 250,000 birds, now has 100,000 birds due to the problem of high cost in production ( as a result of high cost of raw materials especially ,soybean meal ; high energy prices and irregular supply of energy) ,scarcity of raw materials such as maize; low consumption of domestic poultry product specifically broilers and increasing importation of dressed broilers from countries like Brazil, United States of America and the European Union.
1.2 SPECIFIC PROBLEM
After the background study, it was identified that the poultry industry is facing various problems such as high cost of production, low consumption, high cost and irregular supply of energy as well as high cost and inadequate supply of raw materials for feed production. A further study on some selected poultry farms in Kumasi revealed that the farms are facing problems such as high cost of production due to high cost of raw materials, scarcity of raw materials for poultry feed, increase in importation of dressed broilers from other countries (like United States of America, Brazil and the European Union) and low consumption of locally produced broilers. Among these problems, the major one which was identified and will be the problem of study for this project is the increase in importation of dressed broilers.
Importation is the commercial activity of buying and bringing in goods from a foreign country. The importation of dressed broilers into the Ghanaian market has increased by 5%, that is, from 157,000 metric tonnes in May 2012 to 165,000 in May 2013. Currently, the domestic poultry industry is supplying only about 10% of total demand in the country while the imported dressed broilers contributes about 90% . (USDA GAIN Ghana Poultry Report Annual 2013). This has led to the decline in the production of poultry in these farms. For instance, Darko Farms and Company Limited which used to operate about six (6) farms now has only three (3) active.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are:
To identify the causes of increasing importation of poultry products (broilers) in
Ghana.
To identify the effects of importation of poultry products on selected poultry
Farms in Kumasi.
To find out possible solutions to the problem of increasing importation of poultry products facing poultry farms in Kumasi.
To identify future prospects of poultry farms in Kumasi.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In line with the objectives of the study, the following research questions will guide the study;
What are the factors that cause the increase in the importation of poultry products
(broilers)?
To what extent has this high level of importation affected the growth of poultry farms in Kumasi and the Ghanaian economy?
What are the mechanisms that can be put in place to resolve this problem?
1.5 OBJECTIVES AND JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY
The purpose of this study for which the objectives above were identified is to look at the challenges that importation poses to the poultry industry and to find possible measures to overcome them.
The choice to identify the causes of increasing importation of poultry products (broilers) is due to the fact that the poultry industry has seen a decline in the production of poultry products since 2002. The industry could be said to have crippled to the extent that some small poultry farms have collapsed.
Again, the choice to identify the effects of the increasing importation of poultry products (broilers) is due to the reduction in the production level of broilers. The effects give a broader view of how serious the problem of importation of poultry products is and to what extent it affects some of the selected farms in Kumasi and it also gives an idea of the future of these farms.
Moreover, the third objective is to find solutions to reverse the current problems and to prevent the reoccurrence of these problems in future.
Finally, identifying future prospects will help the selected farms in Kumasi to discover their full potential since the poultry industry can be self-sufficient. It will also help to find other avenues for the farms in order to stay active or viable regardless of the challenges the poultry industry in Ghana is facing.
1.6 METHODOLOGY
Sources of Data and Data Collection Instruments
Information used for the study was gathered through primary and secondary data source. Primary data constituted the main source of information for the study. Questionnaires were administered as the basis for the primary data. The data focused on the knowledge of respondents on poultry products, the growth of the poultry farms and the mechanisms to make them efficient. Interviews, personal observations and telephone conversations were also used in the collection of primary data. 100 questionnaires were administered.
In the case of the secondary data source, information was obtained from journals, briefs, reports, past research and many others.
The researcher used SPSS, Gretl and Microsoft Excel in analysingthe data. Frequency distribution, pie charts, bar charts, line graph, percentages and descriptive analysis evaluating increasing importation of poultry products and prospects of the poultry industry in Ghana were used to examine the research questions.
