The Manager of the Akokorfoto Poultry Farm at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region, Mr Newman Nyameke, is advocating Parliament to pass a law to compel banks to grant soft loans to poultry farmers to sustain the industry.
The loans, he said, would enable poultry farmers to produce more feeds for the birds to meet the nation’s poultry needs.
Speaking the media in an interview here at Gomoa Fetteh, Mr Nyameke, noted that it was unfortunate that banks were rather interested in supporting businesses for imports, rather than support the local industry to grow.
Mr Nyamekeh who took journalists on a tour of his farm yesterday to appreciate the challenges the industry was faced with said “for farmers to feed the nation, banks must give us priority in terms of advancing loans to businesses,” he said.
Additionally, Mr Nyameke suggested that the government waived some taxes on poultry products as a means of cushioning the Industry.
He said for example that since 2019 till now, poultry farmers had been suffering to the extent that, they hardly make profits, thereby making it difficult to maintain their staff.
Mr Nyameke continued that for about six months now poultry feeds had been very expensive to the extent that almost all the capital of the farmers went into the purchase of poultry feeds alone.
He noted that what was even too difficult to comprehend was that even if maize production increased, the prices of feed kept going high.
Mr Nyameke said a Ghanaian fact finding mission that visited Rwanda recently came out with a report that the government of that country compelled their banks to give soft loans to farmers as a move to promote agriculture, stressing that Ghana could also do same to promote agriculture.
FROM BERNARD QUANSON, GOMOA FETTEH
