SADA-Asongtaba Guinea Fowl Project Progressively On Course

The SADA-Asongtaba Guinea Fowl Project which began some months ago amidst controversies is beginning to yield significant results, following the engagement of some service providers (farmers) in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zones (NSEZ).

The joint partnership between the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and the Asongtaba Cottage Industries and Exchange Programme (ACI&EP) went into an agreement with 12 service providers in the Northern, 4 in the Upper West and 13 in the Upper East Regions of Ghana who reside in the NSEZ also known as the SADA Zone to produce 70, 800 (8 weeks old) guinea keets.

Each of these service providers has agreed to produce a certain number of guinea keets for the project under individual agreements signed with the joint venture company, SADA-Asongtaba Guinea Fowl Production and Marketing Company Limited; established to oversee the project implementation.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SADA-Asongtaba Guinea Fowl Production and Marketing Company Limited Henry Kangah, told Savannahnews after a visit to some service providers in the NSEZ, that he was optimistic that by the end of the year, the project would have had enough birds ready for sale in the Ghanaian market.

According to him, farmers in the Upper East and Upper West Regions in particular, were doing very well and the company was therefore hopeful that all things being equal, the people of Ghana would definitely not be disappointed so far as the promise to flood Ghanaian markets with guinea fowls and guinea fowl products remains binding.    

CEO, SADA-Asongtaba GFPMCL

However, some service providers Savannahnews spoke to also complained that a lot of the eggs procured to produce guinea keets had their fertility levels somehow compromised due to bad weather and many of them failed to hatch when they were send to the hatchery.

They also cited outbreak of some fowl diseases that killed several hundreds of guinea keets that were hatched, thus compelling many of them to start all over again.

Moreover, some of the service providers also attributed their inability to meet the four-month deadline given to each of them by the company to the late release of funds to start work. 

Abdul-Aziz Ibn Shiraz, a service provider in Kumbungu who has been asked to produce 6000 guinea keets admitted that, there were really challenges regarding the successful execution of contractual agreements the company signed with all service providers, but said they (service providers) were convinced that the future was brighter if they took the project seriously and own it.

These concerns expressed by the service providers including the lack of eggs around this time of the year, Mr. Kangah said, are genuine and gave the assurance that, they would be addressed when they meet with the service providers later on. 

That notwithstanding, Mr. Kangah said the contractual agreements signed with the service providers are still in force but said for now, they would be asked to produce the guinea keets per the amounts of money (half of total amount) already paid to them by the company. 

The CEO of the SADA-Asongtaba Guinea Fowl Production and Marketing Company Limited therefore, encouraged all the service providers to adhere to best farming practices regarding rearing of guinea keets/fowls citing provision of clean environment, clean water and feed, periodic vaccination of keets, a warm brooder house among others in order to avoid high mortality rates.

Meanwhile the overall objective of the SADA-Asongtaba Guinea Fowl Project is to train and establish 1,500 beneficiaries out of the 5.2 million projected population of the three regions of the North as well as the northern parts of Brong Ahafo and Volta Regions. Essentially, the broad objective of the guinea fowl out grower’s project is to organize and empower the youth of the SADA Zone to adopt modern methods for increased guinea fowl production as a strategy for sustainable socio-economic development. 

The project seeks to develop skills and interest of 1,500 unemployed youth in all stages of guinea fowl production and marketing value chain through quality and practical training by the end of 2015. It seeks to implement a comprehensive ‘Production Village Out grower’ concept that will provide available and productive jobs for 1,500 beneficiaries in the SADA Zone.

It also seeks to produce approximately 3million birds annually (that is annual output of 2,000 birds per beneficiary) for both local and international markets. Additionally, the project will assist these beneficiaries to deliver quality products not only for the local market but the global market place, hence, ensuring Ghana becomes a leading exporter of guinea fowl and guinea fowl products. 

The project will further ensure that guinea fowl meat and products substitute imported poultry products which in most cases pose a negative nutritional value to the Ghanaian populates.