Supporting local poultry farmers is not just a nice thing to do but a rational one, says development economist Dr Ralph Nordjo (Ph.D).
Poultry farmers contribute towards developing and strengthening agricultural value chains, produce healthy and nutritious meat, and create employment opportunities, thereby increasing incomes and improving the livelihoods of many poor households in developing countries and rural areas. None of this is a secret.
However, policy makers in most parts of Africa shy away from properly implementing policies to promote local production to the detriment of local poultry farmers, and their economies at large.
Media reports from several countries in Africa – South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, to name a few – showed that poultry farmers continue to protest and demand of their governments to stop killing local production and instead revive their industries. Unfortunately, their loud voices are yet to be heard by their governments.
Many point out that the importation, or dumping, of chicken meat in Africa is carried out by cartels who are politically protected. This makes it difficult for local producers to develop. Assuming this is true, these cartels wouldn’t care how many local poultry farms collapse, or how many citizens are exposed to dumped chicken meat – most of which is imported into countries without undergoing local food safety inspections. These cartels are only interested in profits.
Nigeria, which has the largest population in Africa, banned the importation of frozen poultry products in 2002. This policy focused on restricting importers from accessing foreign exchange permits issued by the Central Bank. Only poultry feed was allowed to be imported.
While I applaud the Government of Nigeria for taking such a bold initiative – which aimed to protect and develop the local poultry industry – I hold the view that, a total ban at a time when local farmers could not meet demand was not the right decision to take.
The implementation of that policy predictably resulted in chicken shortages, which lead to increases in the smuggling of imported poultry products from neighbouring countries. These illegal imports were not subject to food safety inspections at the borders, and could have posed serious food safety risks.
Data from FAOSTAT shows that chicken meat production in Nigeria increased from an average annual growth rate of 2% (1982 – 2001) to 4% (2002 – 2022). So despite the implementation challenges, local production is at least increasing.
Ghana, Nigeria’s neighbour, took a slightly different approach to boosting local production through its Broiler Revitalization Project in 2014. Rather than instituting a total ban (as Nigeria did) it only attempted to partially restrict chicken imports.
The Government of Ghana introduced a 40/60 ratio system. This system stated that 40% of the country’s poultry meat must be supplied by local farmers, and up to 60% could be supplemented by imports. Similar to Nigeria, this policy gave local poultry producers some hope.
However, data from FAOSTAT reveals that the average annual growth rate of local chicken meat production was only 3% (2015 – 2022) compared to 10% prior to the introduction of the policy (2004 – 2013). This shows a clear decline in the average growth rate of local chicken meat production in Ghana.
Meanwhile, the Ghana National Association of Poultry Framers (GNAPF) reports that, Ghana consumes approximately 300,000 metric tonnes of poultry meat annually. Only 5% of this is produced locally and 95% is imported. This staggering statistic has also confirmed by the USDA.
Did the problem lie in the policy itself, or in its implementation?
Both Nigeria and Ghana offer us good case studies. The models adopted by each of these countries on developing local chicken production shows different results.
Did the full ban in Nigeria, and the partial restrictions in Ghana, achieve their stated objectives? Clearly not.
If these countries were serious about development, they would have properly analysed the degree to which a full ban or partial ban would have increased local production. They should also have ensured that local producers have the capital requirements, skills and expertise required to transform from smallholder farmers into integrated commercial producers.
What’s needed is a proper understanding of the poultry value chain in Africa, including an investigation on the stranglehold that imports (both legal and illegal) have on local markets, and the need for Government reform to remove bottlenecks for the development of local production.
