By Celestine Avi and Seth Eyiah
President John Dramani Mahama has cut the sod for the construction of a modern poultry, meat, and feed processing plant at Bechem in the Ahafo Region, one of the signature investments under government’s Feed Ghana Programme. He described the project as a vital pillar in the national agenda to reset the economy, industrialise agriculture, and strengthen Ghana’s food security.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Mahama said the event goes beyond a symbolic activity, representing a decisive step toward building an integrated and self-sustaining poultry value chain. The sector, he noted, has long been burdened by heavy import dependence, with Ghana spending between 300 and 400 million dollars annually on poultry imports. The new facility forms part of government’s end-to-end value chain strategy aimed at boosting domestic poultry production, expanding processing and storage capacity, reducing feed costs, enhancing training, and creating reliable markets for farmers.
The Bechem project has been conceived as a state-of-the-art agro-industrial hub that will power the entire poultry ecosystem. It will include a modern feed processing plant to produce high-quality, affordable feed; a hygienic meat processing unit meeting both domestic and export standards; cold-chain and dry-storage warehouses; and a training academy with residential facilities for young farmers, technicians, and agripreneurs.
President Mahama described the facility as a centre of excellence for research, innovation, and agribusiness incubation, one expected to attract private investment and drive rural industrialisation.
He announced that similar processing facilities will be established across the country to absorb output from the “Nkoko Nketenkete” backyard poultry initiative and other national poultry expansion programmes. The President said the impact of these investments will be far-reaching, reducing production costs through affordable feed, cutting post-production losses, ensuring food safety, and creating thousands of jobs across production, processing, packaging, distribution, and retail.
President Mahama emphasised that the plant will provide guaranteed offtake for both smallholder and commercial farmers, supporting Ghana’s goal of reducing poultry imports and retaining value within the domestic economy. Facilities like this, he noted, will operate continuously and exemplify the efficiency of a functional 24-hour agricultural economy.
He explained that the Bechem project complements other interventions under the Feed Ghana Poultry Transformation Plan, including the Poultry Farmer-to-Table Project supporting 50 commercial farmers, empowerment programmes for 500 small- and medium-scale poultry enterprises, the “Nkoko Nketenkete” backyard poultry scheme targeting three million birds for women and youth, and nationwide expansion of hatcheries, breeder farms, and veterinary services. Together, these interventions aim to rebuild a complete national poultry ecosystem and restore Ghana’s leadership in poultry production across West Africa.
President Mahama also announced a directive for the School Feeding Programme to procure locally produced poultry for meals and revealed plans to launch the Schools Poultry and Livestock Project to encourage schools and institutions to operate their own farms for consumption and income generation.
Explaining the strategic choice of Bechem and the Ahafo Region, the President noted that the area has emerged as one of Ghana’s most dynamic food production zones, with strong linkages to major poultry hubs in Dormaa, Techiman, and Kumasi. He said the new facility will serve as a central processing and training corridor, promoting regional integration in poultry and livestock value chains.
The President expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the District Assembly, the Regional Coordinating Council, development partners, private investors, and farmers’ cooperatives for their commitment to the project. He called for discipline, transparency, and strong community support to ensure the facility becomes a model agro-industrial centre for the nation.
President Mahama said the sod-cutting ceremony reflects Ghana’s collective resolve to produce what it consumes, add value to what it grows, and create sustainable jobs through rural industrialisation.
The President then formally broke ground for the construction of the Poultry, Meat, and Feed Processing Facility at Bechem, scheduled for completion within 12 months.
