The Vice Chairperson of Parliament’s Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey, has called for a review of the government’s flagship Nkoko Nkitinkiti poultry programme following concerns over its implementation.
His comments come after the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, revealed that, some beneficiaries consumed the birds they received instead of rearing them for commercial production.
Speaking to Citi News, the Keta MP described the initiative as a laudable policy but said its implementation had been undermined by poor planning, inadequate training and weak monitoring.
According to him, the rush by some people to access the birds meant many beneficiaries were not adequately prepared to manage the poultry.
“The policy was a good one. The start was not bad, but because of human behaviour, some people rushed to take the birds without being prepared. It has not helped the policy,” he said.
Gakpey urged the government to review the first phase of the programme and address the challenges before rolling out subsequent phases.
He recommended that, beneficiaries be properly registered and trained before receiving the birds, while support packages such as feed should be delivered directly to them instead of through intermediaries.
He also stressed the need for stronger monitoring and evaluation to ensure beneficiaries use the birds for their intended purpose and that the programme achieves its objective of boosting local poultry production.
The lawmaker maintained that, despite the challenges, the Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative remains a worthwhile intervention that can create jobs and increase domestic poultry production if the implementation gaps are addressed.
