News:
July 10, 2026
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has announced that the government has begun procuring birds for Members of Parliament under the Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti initiative, as part of efforts to boost domestic poultry production and reduce Ghana’s reliance on imported poultry products.
Appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Assurances on Thursday, July 9, Mr Opoku said a formal proposal would soon be tabled before the House for consideration and approval, although preparations for the programme are already at an advanced stage.
“I will soon table a proposal before Parliament for consideration. If Parliament agrees, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture will support all parliamentarians to go into poultry production,” he told the committee. “Even though I’m calling it a proposal, plans are far advanced.”
The Minister revealed that the Ministry had already commenced the procurement of birds specifically for legislators ahead of the rollout. Once the birds are ready, they will be distributed to designated locations to enable interested MPs to begin poultry production.
Mr Opoku said the decision to involve MPs was based on their capacity to scale up poultry businesses and attract greater investment into the sector. Describing poultry farming as a “very viable project,” he encouraged legislators to take advantage of the opportunity, drawing on his own experience as a poultry farmer.
“I’m a poultry farmer myself. I started not long ago. If you know what I know, you would have run to be part of that process,” he said.
The Minister further noted that many MPs are already actively engaged in agriculture. “As we speak, about 67 per cent of MPs in Ghana are farmers. So when you see people in ties and think they are only making money from Parliament, you are deceiving yourself,” he added.
The Nkokɔ Nkitinkiti initiative is a flagship agricultural intervention aimed at revitalising Ghana’s poultry industry, increasing local production, and reducing the country’s dependence on imported chicken. The programme initially targets backyard poultry production, with 3 million birds procured for distribution to nearly 60,000 households across the country.
Under the initiative’s expansion, the Ministry is procuring birds for MPs to encourage lawmakers to build sustainable agricultural businesses that can continue beyond their time in office.
Ghanamps.com