Boris Baidoo
PRESIDENT NANA Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been praised for his vision, passion and commitment to improve the poultry farming sector and create wealth for the players in the industry.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Poultry Farmers Association, Mr. Boris Baidoo, aka Boris B, has said the President’s call for steps to be taken to stop chicken importation is heartwarming.
According to him, the importation of chicken into the country, aside draining the national purse, also has the tendency of killing the local poultry industry so the President deserves praises.
“President Akufo-Addo is a visionary and his recent call for steps to be taken to stop the importation of chicken is in the right direction. Poultry farmers have prayed for this for a long time,” Boris B indicated.
Addressing journalists in Kumasi, he disclosed that the country expends a whopping US$375 million to import chicken annually “this means we are providing jobs for foreigners out of Ghana.”
Boris B, who is the CEO of Boris B’s Farms and Veterinary Services Ghana Ltd, insisted that with the right support to poultry farmers, the importation of chicken could be stopped in just five years time.
“Two hundred and fifty metric tonnes of chicken are consumed in the country annually and only five per cent are produced by local poultry farmers, while the remaining 95 per cent are imported and it is sad.
“With the President’s assurance, I can boldly state that the local poultry farmers can produce the entire 250 metric tonnes of chicken when we get the needed support, which is mainly financial support.
“The banks should give soft loans to poultry farmers and interest rates should also be reduced for poultry farmers,” Boris B, who was the 2019 Best Digital Farmer in the country, has appealed.
Again, Boris B praised the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) for announcing a staggering GH¢500 million support for the poultry farming industry “this should be given as grants to poultry farmers.”
According to him, with the right support from government, the private sector and all other stakeholders, the local poultry farming industry would boom, leading to job creation for the people.
“With the right support, we will produce delicious and affordable chicken for the citizenry and also enhance the economy,” Boris B said, reiterating that his group is grateful to the President.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi