A beneficiary of the government’s ‘Nkukonkitinkiti’ poultry initiative, identified as Enyo, has revealed that while the programme successfully provided chicks to locals, high maintenance costs forced her group to slaughter and eat the livestock rather than sell them.
Enyo shared her experience during a phone-in session on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM’s Weekend Morning Show. According to her, their local Assemblyman spearheaded the effort to secure the chicks for rearing.
However, once the birds matured, the group was forced to consume them during the Christmas celebrations. Explaining the decision to eat the animals—which were originally intended to be reared, sold, and used to generate returns—she noted that the cost of feed was prohibitively expensive, eventually causing them to run out of cash.
Her revelation directly countered earlier claims made on the same programme by Mr Abdul Ganiyu Ibrahim, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the Ayawaso East Municipal Assembly.
Speaking to the host, Eddie Ray, the MCE had praised the ruling National Democratic Congress’s policy, describing it as a bold step toward helping Ghanaians establish sustainable poultry businesses.
He claimed that registered participants had successfully reared the animals, sold them, and reinvested the profits into new stock.
“The initiative is not a political stunt; it has succeeded,” the MCE insisted. “People have great stories to tell. One beneficiary even gave me two chickens to slaughter as a testament to the programme’s success. Ayawaso East truly benefited from the exercise. It is real, I have the evidence to show, and the initiative is here to stay. I can share the evidence with you. We are expecting more chicks. It is a positive initiative, and we are hopeful the government will expand it.”
However, when the phone lines were opened to the public, Enyo’s testimony offered a starkly different reality of the programme’s economic sustainability.
“The initiative is real,” Enyo admitted. “A few others and I in Weija Gbawe received the chicks and reared them. However, it reached a point where we could no longer bear the cost of the feed. As a result, we shared the chickens among ourselves and ate them. The meat was juicy and tasted great.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
