Ashanti Region Receives 470,000 Chicks Under Nkoko Nketenkete Project
The Ashanti Region has been allotted 470,000 birds under the Backyard for Nutrition and Livelihoods initiative, also known as Nkoko Nketenkete Project.
These were ceremonially handed over to Akyamfour Asafo Boakye Agyemang-Bonsu, Asafohene, who represented the King of the Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, by President John Dramani Mahama at the project launch on November 12, 2025.
The government intends to allot 10,000 birds to each constituency in Ghana.
“This means the government is going to distribute six million birds across all the 276 constituencies of this country. With each constituency receiving 10 thousand birds, benefitting approximately 60 thousand households.”
As part of the benefits, each house participating will receive 50 birds, feed support and technical guidance to ensure the Sustainability of their project, he noted.
According to Mahama, the initiative is a flagship element of the poultry industry revitalisation programme, which is a key part of our broader Feed Ghana Programme.
Before the national rollout, he disclosed that it was tested in 13 districts and 13 thousand farmers benefited.
“The test demonstrated that backyard poultry is not a marginal activity but a transformative root to better nutrition, security, job creation and local agribusiness.”
As a complementary measure, he said the government has plans far advanced to establish a modern poultry processing factory in Bechem, as an acknowledgement of the fact that increased production must be accompanied by efficient processing and marketing.
He said sod will be cut for the factory in the next two weeks.
The factory, he said, will purchase the produce of farmers and participants and process it for the market.
With these in place, President Mahama said he is anticipating an increase in local poultry production to 75%.
For his part, the Minister for Agriculture, Eric Opoku, said backyard poultry has been successful in India, contributing 37% to its national production.
“It has been established that it is the major tool for poverty alleviation, women empowerment, and national food security.”
He noted that the chicks being distributed are from local production, as well as their feed.
He further encouraged Ghanaians to patronise Ghanaian produce from the initiative.
“The president is doing his part, and so must the citizen. When you go to the market, look for locally produced ones. While we feed Ghana, we encourage you to eat Ghana. Let’s all be ambassadors of our local products.”
Story by Hajara Fuseini
Click to read more: to https://opemsuo.com/author/hajara-fuseini/
