The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Bawku West, James Ayamwego, says the district has intensified efforts to strengthen guinea fowl production, revealing that about 80 people were recently trained to improve their skills in the sector.
Speaking on A1 Radio following the launch of the Prosperity through Enterprise, Agriculture, and Regional Livelihoods (PEARL) initiative in the Upper East Region, Mr. Ayamwego said the district has undertaken several sensitisation programmes for farmers, organised training sessions, and provided starter kits to help participants expand production.
He said the interventions form part of efforts to improve the guinea fowl industry, which he believes has significant potential to create jobs and improve livelihoods in the district.
“There have been several attempts to speak to farmers, to sensitize them, organized training for them, through the BizBox, to support some of them with starter kits and whatnot, things that could help them increase their productivity. I think about two months ago, we had about 80 people trained.”
According to the DCE, the major concerns raised by farmers continue to be limited access to capital and the absence of a reliable market for their products. He explained that creating ready markets would encourage more investment in production and improve returns for farmers.
Mr. Ayamwego also called for the adoption of improved production methods, noting that many farmers still rely on traditional practices that limit productivity.
“We need to also look at new ways of improving that industry. It is the same old things that our parents were doing all along that almost all the farmers are doing. That is not good enough.”
He suggested that the district could leverage its abundant maize production by encouraging farmers to use locally produced cereals as feed to boost guinea fowl production while creating demand for crops that often struggle to find markets.
“We should not just only farm because we human beings want to, but we can also begin to look at intentionally farming to feed our animals, farming to feed our livestock and many other things, which we can leverage the advantage from there.”
He added that the district intends to explore the establishment of large-scale guinea fowl farms to complement support already being provided to individual farmers and further develop the sector.
The PEARL initiative, which was recently launched across all 15 districts of the Upper East Region, seeks to promote sustainable economic growth by harnessing agriculture, mineral resources, artisanal industries, and human capital, with a projected investment target of GH¢8.6 billion.
A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | Gifty Eyram Kudiabor | Bolgatanga
