The CEO of Coconut Grove Regency Hotel, Mr Ralph Ayitey, has called on all hospitality institutions operating in Ghana to follow the hotel’s lead and use only Ghanaian poultry in their establishments.
Delivering a speech as the guest speaker at the launch of the Ghana Poultry Day Festival, 2025, an initiative of Agrihouse Foundation that celebrates the Ghanaian poultry industry, Mr Ayitey emphasised the importance of supporting local poultry farmers and promoting Ghanaian products.
“We believe that serving our clients with what we produce locally has greatly contributed to us coming this far,” Ayitey said on Tuesday, April 15, at the Accra Tourist Information Centre. “We’ve been deliberate about serving local fruit juices, fresh fish from Elmina, and Tilapia from the Volta Lake. And now, we’re encouraging all hospitality outfits to help a brother or sister to consume locally raised poultry to save our motherland.”
Mr Ayitey highlighted the significant impact that importing poultry has on Ghana’s economy. “Ghana consumes over 600,000 imported chickens every single day, with an average of 1.2kg… but we know we have 592k unemployed people,” he noted. “My friends, does that add up to you? This isn’t just about chicken – poultry simply. It’s about jobs. It’s about building a Ghana that feeds itself, employs its own, ‘its own’ pay taxes and believes in its own – let’s build our homeland Ghana.”
The CEO emphasised that the theme for this year’s Poultry Day Festival, “Investing in the Local Poultry Sector: A Means to Creating Jobs, Promoting Agritourism, and Improving Food Security,” is not just a slogan, but a strategy for national transformation and renewal. “Let’s face the numbers: Ghana imports over 300,000 metric tonnes of chicken annually. That’s nearly 600,000 chickens every single day — yet only 5% of what we consume is produced locally,” he said.
He also highlighted the potential for poultry farming to contribute to Ghana’s economy, citing the example of ostrich farming. “The ostrich industry offers us a great opportunity to become net exporters of not just the meat but the leather that comes with it,” he noted.
To achieve this goal, Ayitey called for calculated and deliberate action, including innovating feed sources, building out grower partnerships, and involving the youth in poultry farming. “Let’s start early — from basic schools to the university level — and make poultry not just a subject, but a solution,” he said. “We need to develop specialised curricula, training programmes, and workshops in poultry science, animal husbandry, and agribusiness management.”
The hotelier also emphasised the importance of telling the story of Ghana’s poultry industry and building a brand around local poultry products. “Let’s say it loud and proud: Ghana Chicken is Fresh. Healthy. Safe. Ghanaian,” he declared.
Regarding the role of the government, Ayitey said, “The government will need to bolster, reinforce, and fortify the conditions that enable growth. We’re not asking for handouts. We’re asking for a partnership.” He called on the government to offer tax incentives for producers, provide affordable financing for expansion, invest in proper cold chain infrastructure, and enforce existing regulations to stop the dumping of poor-quality imports that are hurting local farmers.
“We’re asking for a partnership that will support every aspect of the value chain — from breeder farms to hatcheries, feed mills to processing plants, transport to marketing,” Ayitey said. “Because when Ghana’s poultry thrives, Ghana wins — on food security, on jobs, on health, on agritourism and economic growth.”
In conclusion, Mr Ayitey, who’s also the National Treasurer of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), called on all Ghanaians to support the local poultry industry and promote Ghanaian products. “Let’s be deliberate about it. Let’s make Ghana chicken the preferred choice. Let’s have the Ghana chicken choice available,” he said. “When we demystify poultry and show that it’s not just ‘dirty work’ but profitable, purposeful, and impactful, we will raise a new generation who won’t just seek jobs — they’ll create them.”
About the Ghana Poultry Day
The Ghana Poultry Day festival’s primary goal is to promote the consumption and patronage of locally produced poultry while highlighting its nutritional and medicinal benefits.
The festival also aims to raise awareness about the poultry sector’s role in employment, food security, and economic growth. This initiative is in collaboration with the Ghana Poultry Farmers Association, the Ghana Egg Secretariat, the National Farmers and Fishermen Award Winners Association, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and various other stakeholders, to promote the consumption of locally produced chicken.
The 5th edition of the festival will take place at the forecourt of the State House on July 1, 2025.
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