The General Secretary of the Poultry Farmers’ Association in the Bono Region, Mordecai Manful, has lamented the effect maize shortages are having on the poultry industry.

Maize contributes to the majority of what is used to prepare feed for chickens and now, Mr. Manful said farmers don’t have enough maize to feed chickens.

Because of this, farmers are being forced to sell birds earlier than the 70 to 90-week range, Mr. Manful said.

“Now farmers are selling their birds at as early as 25 weeks and 30 weeks because they can’t get the feed to feed them,” he said.

“With all these increments, we can’t sell our eggs to meet costs, so farmers are being forced to sell their birds when they are not supposed to and that is causing the industry to collapse.”

According to Mr. Manful, the poultry industry needs a steady supply of maize.

“The birds eat so much that we should have a chunk of maize in the system so that we can use it to feed our birds.”

According to a study on the poultry feed sector in Ghana by the International Food Policy Research Institute, maize accounted for 60 percent of poultry feed.

Its price has implications for the profitability and growth potential of the industry.

Currently, five out of the 55 feed mills in the country have shut down due to the situation.

In June 2020, a 50kg bag of maize was selling for GHS65.

A year later, the same commodity at the same weight is selling for about GHS130.