Poultry farmers fear imminent close down of farms because of the metastasizing costs of production over the last couple of weeks. According to some poultry farmers in the Northern Region, 100 kilogrammes of maize is not sold at between Ghc280 and Ghc300 while the 50-kilogramme bag of soybeans is sold at Ghc310.
This came to light when the Northern Regional Chairman for the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF), George Dasseh spoke on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East.
“Just last week, we bought maize at Ghc280; that is the 100-kilogramme bag. At some places, it is Ghc300. Imagine a situation where you go to buy maize, the 100kg at Ghc250, a week later, you go and they say Ghc265. These are weekly increases. Some of the maize farmers are also hoarding it in anticipation of a higher price,” he said.
Mr. Dasseh continued to say that “I bought soybeans at Ghc280 for the 50kg bag. A week later, they are telling me Ghc295. As we speak, it is Ghc310. The costs are just increasing”.
Meanwhile, the Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) has welcomed the government’s decision to ban the exportation of maize and soybeans.
Government restricted the exportation of two important commodities, soya bean, and maize from the country. According to the Food and Agric Ministry, this forms part of measures to ensure food security and increase local poultry and livestock production.
Also, consumers of eggs would be expected to pay more for their fix of the protein. It is however unclear what the margin of increase is. This is because the Association of Poultry Farmers and the Egg Sellers Association have been unable to reach a consensus on what the price of a crate of same-sized eggs would be sold across the country.
A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
