Budget 2010 Statement-POULTRY FARMERS UPBEAT (Front Page)

THE Poultry Farmers Association of Ghana has welcomed the government’s intervention for the revival of the domestic poultry industry, saying its success or failure will depend on how the provisions in the 2010 budget are given a practical implementation.
Responding to the government’s projections in the budget for revamping the industry, the President of the association, Mr Kenneth Quartey, pointed out that “everything will depend on how the objectives stated in the budget are implemented”.
He said the long period during which imported poultry products were dumped on Ghana had eroded both the fixed and working capitals of many of the members of the association, to the extent that there was the need for a special package to help them revamp the sector.
Presenting the budget in Parliament on Wednesday, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning placed a heavy premium on agriculture and touched on the government’s objective of seeing to it that Ghana was able to meet the domestic demand for fish and poultry by the year 2012.
Dr Duffuor observed that the government was aware of the threats posed by the indiscriminate dumping of goods and services on the country, thereby making domestic production uncompetitive, adding that even in sectors such as food and agriculture where the country had comparative advantage, indiscriminate importation had robbed it of the benefits of domestic production.
To cut down on imports of poultry and fish into the country, the Finance Minister hinted that the government would levy duties on those imports and support local production, adding that “the target is that Ghana should be able to meet the domestic demand for fish and poultry by the year 2012”.
“The government will also assist poultry farmers to acquire equipment, chicken feed, chemicals and other inputs to enable them to undertake large-scale chicken production in the country,” he pointed out.
Lauding the measures, Mr Quartey said Ghanaian farmers were capable of feeding the nation, provided they were given the right push and incentives, adding that before the market became flooded with foreign products, it was the local farmers who provided for the local market.
He reiterated that the assistance being promised by the government should include a special package which could help farmers to be strong on their feet to deliver, not short-term loans which members could not afford to repay.
He explained that if poultry farmers were assisted with loans with high interest rates from commercial banks, they might not be able to turn it round to make the needed impact.
In addition, he said, since the sector had gone down for such a long time, it would take some time for it to really come up to an appreciable level, adding, “The situation cannot change overnight.”