Some nkoko nkitinkiti beneficiaries have eaten the chickens instead of selling them – Agric Minister

• Agric Minister Eric Opoku says some Nkoko Nkitinkiti beneficiaries slaughtered and ate the chickens instead of rearing them.

• He revealed that some beneficiaries even sent him videos showing themselves eating the birds.

• Government has procured three (3) million birds for nearly 80,000 households under the poultry programme.

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Appearing before Parliament's Assurance Committee on Thursday, July 9, the Minister said some beneficiaries even sent him videos showing themselves eating the birds.

"Some also decided to kill and eat all. In fact, they were even sending me videos that are honourable, we are eating everything. But this is not meant for that immediate consumption. We just wanted people to rear them, sell, and reinvest so that it becomes that's a trending story that they are eating the birds," Mr Opoku said.

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He explained that the programme was introduced to help households generate income by rearing poultry for sale and reinvesting the proceeds, rather than consuming the birds immediately.

Although he said the government does not support such actions, Mr Opoku acknowledged that increased consumption of locally produced poultry could still have some positive effect.

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"Chairman, even though we don't encourage that, we don't encourage that because we wanted them to capitalise on this, to earn something for their livelihoods. If that is what they have decided to do at the national level in aggregation, it also helps, if they are able to build a good taste for locally produced poultry," he added.

The Minister also provided an update on the implementation of the Nkoko Nkitinkiti programme, disclosing that government has procured three (3) million birds for distribution to nearly 80,000 households across the country.

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According to him, two hundred (200) beneficiaries will be selected from each constituency, with the chicks first being brooded and vaccinated before distribution to reduce mortality rates.

Mr Opoku further told the committee that the programme has already been rolled out in 11 regions, while distribution is now being extended to the five (5) northern regions after what he described as a successful pilot phase.

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The Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative forms part of government's efforts to boost local poultry production, improve household incomes and reduce Ghana's dependence on imported chicken.