Ghana Secures $87 Million in Financing Pledges to Narrow Poultry Import Gap
Ghana has secured more than 1 billion cedis ($87 million) in financing commitments under its "24-Hour Economy" program to expand domestic poultry production. The money covers feed, day-old chicks, equipment, processing, storage and veterinary services, with a first phase of about 300 million cedis through Absa, Fidelity and Ecobank. USDA data show Ghana importing an estimated 270,000 tonnes of chicken meat in 2024 against 70,000 tonnes of domestic output.
Ghana has secured more than 1 billion cedis ($87 million) in financing commitments to expand domestic poultry production and cut its reliance on imported chicken. The government announced the pledges on Monday, Sept. 7, under its “24-Hour Economy” program, according to Ecofin Agency.
The first financing phase is valued at about 300 million cedis and will run through three lenders: Absa, Fidelity and Ecobank. The government says it plans to mobilise additional resources as the program progresses.
Money aimed at the whole value chain
Rather than funding farm capacity alone, the commitments are meant to cover several links in the poultry chain:
- animal-feed production
- day-old chick supplies
- equipment
- processing
- storage
- veterinary services
The program is also designed to give producers financing terms that match their production cycles. Authorities argue that conventional bank lending does not adequately reflect the sector’s operating constraints. “The funds are available, but we need to put the appropriate structures in place to mobilise these funds and deploy them effectively across the entire sector,” said Arnold Parker, head of financing at the “24-Hour Economy” Secretariat.
The secretariat will work with financial institutions and poultry-industry stakeholders to develop tailored financing solutions, and to strengthen technical and business-management capabilities among producers. Partnerships with research institutions, including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, are intended to support productivity improvements.
A supply gap of hundreds of thousands of tonnes
Ghana consumed about 324,047 tonnes of poultry meat in 2022 while domestic producers supplied only 15,000 tonnes, according to data cited in the government statement. On those figures, local output covered 4.6% of consumption.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture measures the gap differently. USDA data cited by Ecofin Agency show Ghana importing an estimated 270,000 tonnes of chicken meat in 2024 against domestic production of 70,000 tonnes, with the country spending more than $375 million a year on meat imports.
The Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers puts the annual bill for imported poultry products at close to $400 million. The two datasets differ on how much Ghana produces — 15,000 tonnes in the government’s 2022 reference against 70,000 tonnes in the USDA estimate for 2024 — but both describe a market in which imports carry the bulk of supply.
The second poultry package in two weeks
The announcement follows financing agreements worth $270 million signed in late August for the National Poultry Transformation Programme. According to the “24-Hour Economy” Secretariat, that program targets higher domestic chicken output, lower import dependence and 12,000 direct jobs.
Taken together, the two packages amount to roughly $357 million in committed financing — less than a single year of Ghana’s poultry import spending as estimated by the national poultry farmers’ association. The immediate test is disbursement: the tranche actually opened to producers is 300 million cedis, and the secretariat itself says the structures needed to deploy the rest have yet to be built.
