How to Start a Poultry Farming Business in Ghana

Poultry farming is one of the most established and profitable business ideas in Ghana. The Ghanaian economy thrives on agriculture and poultry farming contributes significantly to the country’s GDP.

According to statistics agriculture contributes to 19.7 per cent of Ghana’s GDP and accounts for over 40 per cent of export earnings. Poultry farming in Ghana can play an important role in the total national income of the country and fulfil the annual nutrition demands.

Despite the many poultry farms in Ghana, the demand for poultry product is on the increase. Poultry farming is a lucrative business. The end product of poultry like chicken and egg are in high demand in the country.

More importantly, poultry products fall into the category of white meat believed to be more healthy for human consumption.

Having said that, in this guide, I will be sharing with you the beginners guide on how to start a lucrative poultry farming business in Ghana.

What is Poultry Farming

Poultry farming can be defined as the process of raising various domestic birds like chicken, turkey, ducks, geese, etc. for their eggs or meat. This has been a common practice in Ghana for such a long time that it has become an indispensable part of the farming and agriculture system.

Poultry farming could be considered as one of the most lucrative agricultural business ideas in Ghana today. It requires not huge capital to start as you can start from the comfort of your house if you have enough space to take the number of birds that you desire.

Poultry Farming in Ghana

As earlier mentioned, poultry farming in Ghana is very lucrative with an increased demand nationwide. Poultry farming is one of the fastest-growing segments in the Agricultural industry in Ghana.

The Ghanaian poultry sector is divided into two; small scale and commercial scale. Small scale poultry farming is those with less than 2,000 birds.

On the other hand, commercial poultry production in Ghana can be categorized into large-scale (over 10,000 birds), medium-scale (between 5,000 – 10,000 birds) and small-scale (less than 5,000 birds).

According to the Ghana Poultry Project (GPP) there are 29 large scale commercial poultry farms currently in Ghana and mostly found in the Ashanti region (13), Brong Ahafo (12) and Greater Accra region (4). These form about 20 per cent of the total poultry sector, producing mainly eggs.

How to Start a Poultry Farming Business in Ghana

If you’re considering starting a poultry farm in Ghana, then you should enter the business well prepared by learning about the business. Right from setting up some basic equipment to raising the birds and marketing your business, you have to take every step wisely.

Poultry farming is of different types such as duck rearing, chicken rearing, quails, turkey, broiler, etc. However, the principles and practices underlying are the same. Below is a comprehensive guide to follow to start a profitable poultry farming business in Ghana.

Step 1 – Choose Your Poultry Breed

Before starting your poultry farm, you need to have a clear picture of the type of poultry breed to farm. There are three types of breed suitable for commercial poultry farming in Ghana.

Modern poultry breeds are highly productive and commercial raising is also very profitable. Modern layers produce more eggs than traditional breeds and broilers grow faster than ever. Selecting proper breeds for commercial production depends on you.

Broilers: They’re fast-growing breed and are mainly raised for meat. Generally, they gain slaughter weight within a very short time by consuming a certain amount of food. They grow from a hatch weight of 40 g to a weight of approximately 1.5 to 2 kg within 6 weeks only.

Layers: Layer poultry breeds are used for commercial egg production and then killed for meat. They start laying eggs at the age of 18-19 weeks and continue until they are 72-78 weeks of age.

Cockerels: Just like the broilers, cockerels are also for meat production and have a special market demand but then, its growth is very slow, unlike the broilers that grow very fast. Cockerels can survive in many environments.

Step 2 – Choose A Suitable Farm Location

The location of our poultry farm is very important to the success of your business. Getting a farm location is a critical part of starting a poultry business. Your poultry farming scale should determine the size of your farmland.

If you are going into a small scale poultry farming, you can make do with your backyard or acquire a temporary site. However, if you’re going into a large-scale poultry farming, you’ll need to get bigger farmland.

A perfect site for poultry farming should be clean and pollution-free. You should also have a good source of drinking water for your birds. Additionally, the site must be free from predators. The site must be easily accessible from main roads so as to ease the transportation of farm products when they are ready for sale.

Step 3 – Choose a  Good Housing System

A good housing system is very important for commercial poultry farming in Ghana. The housing system you choose depends on the poultry breeds and farming method. Housing design varies in accordance with various types of poultry raising methods.

The housing to be built should be spacious enough to permit free movement and running of the birds. Shelters must be raised adequately to prevent the risk of flooding. It should be spacious enough to permit free movement and running of the birds. In addition, the shelter must be adequately ventilated and protected from sunlight.

Step 4 – Provide Feeding for Your Birds

A good and high-quality feed is very important for poultry production. Quality and neat feeds keep the bird healthy always and very productive. The feed must be kept clean and dry always, as contaminated feed can infect poultry. Fresh quality and nutritious food is the key to success in poultry farming business. Your birds need not lack water. Lack of adequate water supply can impede their growth.

Step 5 – Provide Proper Medication for Your Birds

Poultry birds are very sensitive and need proper medication and vaccination to prevent poultry diseases. Generally, they suffer from various types of viral, bacterial, fungal, nutritional and parasitic diseases.

As a commercial poultry farmer, you need to have a veterinary doctor that can come run a check on your birds when the need arises. There are various routine medications and vaccinations that help towards the healthiness of your birds.

Step 6 – Marketing Your Farm Produce

The most interesting thing about poultry farming in Ghana is that it has an already established market. However, to maximize your profit, you need to pay attention to the marketing and sales of your farm produce.

You can sell your product in both local markets and big cities. Nevertheless, the following ideas can help you in the marketing and sales of your chicken; taking your business online, selling to hotels and restaurants, advertising your products, employing marketers, home delivery, etc.

Step 7 – Register Your Farm

This is mostly applicable to commercial poultry production. Once you’ve set up your poultry farm you need to get your business registered with the necessary government agency.

One of the advantages of registering your farm is that it gives you the opportunity to secure fundings in the form of loan or grant from the government. You also stand a chance of benefiting from agricultural intervention programmes.

Cost of Starting A Poultry Farming Business in Ghana

Many businesses require a large capital which sometimes scares investors away. A typical startup business also takes a long time to produce a return on your investment. By contrast, a small-scale poultry business has a relatively low start-up cost and rapid returns.

The cost of starting a poultry farm varies with the number of chicken that a farmer intends to rear. For example, the first cycle for 500 broiler chickens will cost an average of 10,000 GHS with the figure expected to go down in the subsequent cycles. For layers, it costs around 55,000 GHS.

Conclusion

Poultry farming in Ghana is really lucrative and great business idea. As it is an already established business, so all types of necessary facilities are available. You just need some capital and practical knowledge for starting poultry farming in Ghana.