Could Ghana's Poultry Farmers Associations Not End The Importation Of Frozen Processed Poultry Products By Partnering The Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation?

Poultry farmers in Ghana must seize the opportunity offered by the government's agricultural sector initiative, 'Planting for food and jobs', to help make Ghana self-sufficient in the production of processed poultry products.

"It is scandalous that Ghana spends as much as between US$180-US$300 million annually importing frozen processed poultry products - especially when most of the consignments shipped here by the importers' overseas principals have been in cold storage for years."

How very absurd. Yet, with a little lateral thinking, our domestic poultry industry could be empowered to expand rapidly and be in a position to actually save our nation those huge annual foreign currency outlays spent importing frozen processed poultry products into Ghana. Were that to happen, as a nation in which a majority of the population love eating chicken, would we not create wealth that stays in Ghana and jobs galore for young people across the nation?

This blog's question to the trade associations in the poultry sub-sector of Ghana's national economy's agricultural sector is: Why do you not collaborate with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's poultry initiative for Africa, to find long-term funding for the setting up of mini poultry processing plants in strategically located districts nationwide?

They would also be wise to suggest to Bill Gates that he partners with them to run the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's direct distribution of free day-old chicks across Ghana - and earn regular income for members of the varous regional poultry associations too, that way. For their benefit and that of this blog's many brilliant young readers, we have culled a BBC News story about the Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation's poultry sector initiative for Africa. Please read on:

"Bill Gates launches chicken plan to help Africa poor 9 June 2016 From the section Africa

Mr Gates says raising chickens can be a way to tackle extreme poverty Microsoft founder Bill Gates has launched a campaign to help extremely poor families in sub-Saharan Africa by giving them chickens.

The billionaire and philanthropist says raising and selling the birds can be efficient to tackle extreme poverty. He has promised to donate 100,000 chickens, and the project's page has already been shared thousands of times. The UN estimates that 41% of people in sub-Saharan Africa live in extreme poverty. Mr Gates said a farmer breeding five hens could earn more than $1,000 (£690) a year. The poverty line is about $700 (£484).

He added that the goal was to help 30% of the rural families in sub-Saharan Africa raise improved breeds of vaccinated chickens, up from the current 5%. Media caption wwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mozambique chicken farmer struggles to compete with cheap imports Africa Live: More on this and other news stories Will it work?

Matthew Davies, BBC Africa Business Report editor: You can't fault the sentiment. Giving away 100,000 chickens in an effort to alleviate poverty is a noble gesture in itself. But the plan throws up a few questions. As the chicken population increases, where is the feed going to come from? Will more arable land have to be given over to growing chicken feed?

Also, with more chickens on the market, simple demand/supply economics suggests the average price of a chicken would fall. There's also the issue of dumping. The US, the European Union and Brazil are accused of selling chickens into African markets at prices way below what local farmers can afford to sell them for. But all this doesn't mean that Mr Gates' plan shouldn't be tried.

If there's even a small chance of success it needs to be done. Nay-sayers and cynics may flap and cluck about such a plan, but at least when it comes to helping Africa's poor, Bill Gates has once again proved that he isn't chicken.

At the launch of the campaign in New York, Mr Gates said: "These chickens are multiplying on an ongoing basis so there's no investment that has a return percentage anything like being able to breed chickens." Image copyright Twitter - @BillGates How does Bill Gates choose which causes to back?

He is partnering with charity organisation Heifer International. Some 800 million people live in extreme poverty worldwide, the UN says. What else has Bill Gates done? The Bill and and Melinda Gates Foundation has given $36bn to fund health, development and education projects. Has contributed to numerous projects in research about Aids, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis, among others.

He has supported technology projects including an initiative to provide clean water from human faeces and another to create high-tech toilets in poor areas. But it has seen failures too, as with InBloom, an educational project aimed at recording students' data, which shut down in 2014. Critics also say some of the foundation's projects are of difficult large-scale implementation or have faced local rejection.

Bill Gates explains which 'superpower' he'd choose to help poor