Women In Poultry Appeals For Assistance

The Ashanti Regional Women in Poultry Association has appealed to the government for credit facilities to enable its members acquire broiler processing machines and venture into the production of broilers in order to meet the demands of customers.

Ms. Edith Akosah Wheatland, Chief Executive officer (CEO) of Rockland Farms Limited and the Vice President of the association, made the appeal when President Akufo-Addo visited the 12.65-acre farm at Nkujua Aframso in the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti Region.

The Rockland Farms boss told the President that her outfit, which has 60,000 layer birds, intends to expand the tentacles of her poultry business to Agona, where they can reach out to communities such as Ejisu, Aboaso, Agona and others.

The Rockland Farm CEO, who came from America to establish her poultry business in Ghana in 2015, indicated that 95 percent of her customers are in Accra, adding that she also supplies to Joefel Catering.

The farms, she indicated, produces its own feed, produces 1,300 eggs per day, and has engaged 32 women in employment.

Meanwhile, Nana Akufo-Addo has directed that the authorities at Exim Bank consider issues raised by the female farmers and find solutions to them.

Earlier, President Akufo-Addo visited the North American Farm in Aframso, where he had firsthand information about the farm, owned by Nana Owusu Achiaw, Ashanti Region Member of the Council of State.

The maize farm is made of hybrid maize which is resistant to fall army worms.

The President directed the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Afriyie Akoto, to speed up the arrival of maize which can withstand the fall army worms for Ghanaian farmers.

Nana Owusu Achiaw noted that the visit by the President had spurred him on in the venture, since the hybrid, which takes 115 days before harvest, produces about seven tonnes per hectare.