Sheep & Goats Summary Fact Sheet
Production
- Mutton:
- 21,349 Mt (2016)
- 26,134 Mt (2017)
- 26,716 Mt (2018)
- 23,999 Mt (2019)
- 24,948 Mt (2020)
- Chevon:
- 26,285 Mt (2016)
- 27,889 Mt (2017)
- 28,727 Mt (2018)
- 30,278 Mt (2019)
- 31,902 Mt (2020)
Source: Agricultural Facts & Figures – SRID/MoFA
- Sheep:
- 1,744,000 (2016)
- 4,978,000 (2017)
- 5,102,000 (2018)
- 5,333,000 (2019)
- 5,544,000 (2020)
- Goats:
- 6,740,000 (2016)
- 7,151,000 (2017)
- 7,366,000 (2018)
- 7,764,000 (2019)
- 8,180,000 (2020)
Source: Agricultural Facts & Figures – SRID - MoFA
- Sheep
- Gestation: 155 days
- Weaning: 3 months
- Ready for sale: 10 – 12 months
- Goat:
- Gestation: 145 days
- Weaning: 3 months
- Ready for sale: 10 – 12 months
- All Year Round
- Cemented floor
- Bred Ewe/Nanny: 1.1 – 1.5 m2(12-16 ft2)
- Ewe/Nanny with Lambs / Kids: 1.5 – 1.9 m2 (16 – 20 ft2)
- Ram/ Buck: 1.9 – 2.8 m2 (20 – 30 ft2)
- Feeder Lamb / Kid: 0.74 – 0.93 m2 (8 – 10 ft2)
- Slated Floor
- Bred Ewe/Nanny: 0.74 - 0.93 m2 (8 - 10 ft2)
- Ewe/Nanny with Lambs / Kids: 0.93 - 1.1 m2 (10 - 12 ft2)
- Ram / Buck: 1.3 - 1.9 m2 (14 - 20 ft2)
- Feeder Lamb / Kid: 0.37 - 0.6 m2 (4 - 6 ft2)
(Source: APD - MoFA)
- 10.16 cedis per kilo live weight
Source: APD - MoFA
- Sheep
- Male: 25 – 30 kg
- Female: 20 – 25 kg
- Goat
- Male: 20 – 25 kg
- Female: 18 – 20 kg
Source: APD - MoFA
- Small ruminants are herbivores hence they are mainly fed with grass.
- They are also fed with supplementary feed from agro-by products;
- Wheat bran
- Spent malt
- Rice straw
- Maize/Sorghum stover
- Groundnut/Cowpea vines
- Dried cassava peels
- Rams: 1.6% of body weight of Dry matter
- Ewe (Breeding and Lactating): 1.6 – 5% of body weight of Dry matter
- Lamb for Market (Fatteners): 1.5 – 6% of body weight of Dry matter
- 5 percent (Source: APD - MoFA)
- 80% (Source: APD - MoFA)
- 1.7
Source: APD - MoFA
- 1.2
Source: APD - MoFA
Budget Benchmarks
- 27,725.00 (for 50 animals)
- 58,667.14
- 30,942.14
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General Overview of Small Ruminants (Sheep & Goats) Production
Small Ruminants (Sheep and goats) have good adaptation to many different climates hence they are widely distributed in Ghana. These farm animals are a good source of protein for the populace. The patronage of sheep and goat meat is high in the country due to its acceptance by people from all walks of life.
Compared to cattle, sheep and goats reproduce rapidly and build up herd/flock numbers quickly. Their small sizes and relatively low cost of production make them a good option for people with low initial capital and limited land resources. Small ruminants can be raised in rural, urban and peri-urban areas under simple production practices and techniques.
Breeds in Ghana
Table 1: Characteristics of sheep
Breed | Utility | Description |
West African Forest Sheep or the Djallonké | Mutton | Adult males weight approximately 37 kg. They have a well-developed throat ruff and are horned. Ewes have mature weights of 25 kg. The females are usually polled. They can be bred at the age of 7 to 8 months.
They tend to have a short lambing interval. The prolificacy of adult ewes is low to moderate ranging from 1.15 to 1.50 lambs per lambing. At less than 100 g per day under good feed conditions, their growth rate is low and lamb mortality is high. This breed is also trypanotolerant. |
The Sahelian sheep | Mutton |
Sahel-type sheep are also known as: Fulani, Peul, Bali-Bali, Maure, Tuareg, Guinea Long-legged, Sahelian, West African Long-legged. When compared to the West African Dwarf, the main difference is that the Sahel-type sheep are taller, heavier, of poor mutton conformation and rams do not have a throat ruff or mane. Mature ewes weigh over 35 kg (77 lb). |
Table 2: Characteristics of Goat
West African Dwarf (WAD | Milk and meat | In Ghana, the most predominant small ruminant livestock genetic resource is the West African Dwarf (WAD) goat with an estimated population of about 6,044,000 as against 4,335,000 for sheep according to the Ghana Livestock Development Policy and Strategy. The breed possesses desirable traits such as hardiness/adaptability, relatively high prolificacy, precociousness and trypanotolerance. West African Dwarf goats are capable of breeding at twelve to eighteen months. The kidding interval averages about 220 days. Adult males weigh 20 to 25 kg (44 to 55 lb) and females 18 to 22 kg (40 to 49 lb). Both sexes have horns, which curve outwards and backwards in males. Males also have beards and sometimes manes |
Sahelian Goat | Meat, milk and skin production | They are thin in appearance with narrow body, shallow chest and sloping short croup. They have stiff short hair with variety of colors. Average height of the adult Sahelian buck is about 70–85 cm, and 65–75 cm for does. The bucks on average weight about 38.5 to 56.7 kg, and average weight of the does is about 25 to 34 kg. Sahelian goats are very strong and hardy animals. First kidding occurs usually about 18 months of age and their lactation period is usually 5–6 months.
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Value Chain Actors and Linkages in Ghana
Value Chain Actors and Linkages
Input Suppliers
These actors are involved in the supply of animals for breeding/ fattening, provision of animal health services, drugs, feed, equipment etc. Veterinary services are generally available in both organized livestock markets to combat animal diseases. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture does make government veterinarians available to small ruminant producers in most parts of the country, but there are obstacles to the needed growth in private sector veterinary services.
Small Ruminant Farmers
This group of actors are the major suppliers of chevon/mutton for processing and consumption. Most of these farmers practice semi intensive system of production and sell live animals to traders whilst others provide slaughter facilities and supply the meat directly to chevon/mutton retailers and supermarkets.
Small Ruminant Traders
They are market agents who go round farms and aggregate the animals and send to the slaughter slabs. Some of the traders own or rent holding pens for the animals on sale. Others sell directly to processors and retailers.
Processors
These are varied and mostly informal. The first line of processors is the slaughter slab operator and secondary processors who further add value to chevon/mutton for consumption. The value added in the processing of small ruminants mainly occurs in the meat sector and in hides and skins. There is little intra-regional trade in meat due to the absence of refrigerated trucks or rail cars and major problems in cold chain assurance. The milk sector is mainly oriented around cow’s milk, with sheep and goat milk mostly not marketed and consumed in the producers’ homes, considered essential for nourishing children.
Chevon/Mutton Retailers (Marketers)
This group of actors select animals from aggregators at the slaughter slabs for slaughtering and supply to restaurants, hotels, food vendors and individuals whilst others roast (kebab) or prepare food (chopbar) and sell to individual consumers.
Consumers
These are individual and institutional consumers who buy fresh meat from butchers and supermarkets or processed meat for consumption.
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Key Husbandry Practices and Their Importance
Key Good Husbandry Practices
Key Good Husbandry Practice
| Brief Description and Importance | |||
Breeds Source;https://news.ilri.org/2017/08/16/wagoats-lifetime-performance https://www.pinterest.com/pin | Sheep - The dominant breed in the country is the West African forest or the Djallonké and the Sahelian sheep. The Djallonke is:
The Sahelian sheep is:
NB: In order to combine the positive traits of the two breeds, some small ruminant producers keep crosses of the Djallonke and the Sahelian sheep. Goats – Prominent breeds of goats in Ghana are West African Dwarf (WAD) and the Sahelian with similar production behavior like the sheep. The adult male however weighs 20-26 kg and the female about 18-24 kg. Djallonké/West Africa Dwarf Goat:
Sahelian Goat:
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Breeding Stock Selection
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Ram/Buck
Gimmers
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Site Selection | Factors to consider in selecting a site for goat/sheep production include the following:
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Construction of House | Basic requirements for a standard housing
Facilities required in a Standard Housing
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Space requirement | Space Requirement | |||
Class, Age and Size of Animal | Barn/Shed | |||
Floor Area per Animal | Height of Wall | Height of Ceiling (from ground) | ||
Dry Ewes | 12 - 20 ft2 (1.1 - 1.8 m2) | 4 ft (121.9 cm) | 8 - 10 ft (243.8 - 304.8 cm) | |
Ewes with Lambs | 15 - 22 ft2 (1.4 - 2.0 m2) | 4 ft (121.9 cm) | 8 - 10 ft (243.8 - 304.8 cm) | |
Stud rams | 20 - 30 ft2 (1.8 - 2.8 m2) | 4 ft (121.9 cm) | 8 - 10 ft (243.8 - 304.8 cm) | |
Lambs, young ram, gimmers | 10 - 12 ft2 (0.9 - 1.1) | 4 ft (121.9 cm) | 8 - 10 ft (243.8 - 304.8 cm) | |
Other Facilities | Foot bath; to prevent transfer of disease pathogens to pen by workers and visitors Changing rooms; for workers and visitors. A dip; to enhance periodic control of ecto-parasites. Delivery area; an area designed to house expectant pregnant animals to enhance safe delivery. Nursing area; an area designed to separate the nursing mother and its young ones from the rest of the flock to give them special care until weaning. Weaner/Grower/Fattener area; an area created to house large numbers of weaners/growers/fatteners for sale. Buck/Ram pen; an area set aside to house breeding males to help control breeding. Ewe/Nanny area; an area set aside to house breeding females to help control breeding. Isolation pen; space designated for sick animals to avoid the spread of infectious diseases and also allow appropriate medication. NB: It must be separated from the main housing facility. Quarantine or holding pen; an area set aside for holding newly acquired stock. NB: It must be separated from the main housing facility. Store house; space created for storage of feed/feed ingredients, drugs and tools/equipment. NB: Pallets and shelves must be provided in the store. | |||
Equipment Source; https://www.smidley.com/images/products/hog_scale_enlarged_view.jpg) |
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Feed and Feeding Regime Source; https://www.thespruce.com/thmbhttps://agritech.tnau.ac.in/expert-system/sheepgoat https://www.pinterest.com/3364330346511658571 | Type of Feed: Pasture/fodder, Agro by products, Concentrate.
Pasture: Grasses and Legumes Grasses:
Legumes:
Agro by products:
These pasture species can be planted as pure stand or mixture (grass x legume) and harvested/cut for animals under intensive rearing of grazed directly by animals under semi - intensive system.
Feed intake:
Always provide salt-vitamin-mineral premix (salt lick) for small ruminants
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Medication/ vaccination Regime
Source; https://www.premier1supplies.com/sheep-guide | Disease prevention measures are key for any successful small ruminant production enterprise. Regular cleaning of pens as well as vaccination of the flock against scheduled diseases such as Peste Des Petits Ruminants (PPR) and Anthrax is required. Below is a table of some disease prevention measures and vaccination regime in small ruminant production. Vaccination regime and Disease Prevention for Small Ruminants | |||
Programme
| Vaccine/drug | Age | Period | |
Vaccination Peste Des Petits Ruminants(PPR)
Anthrax |
Consult the Vet.
Consult the Vet. |
3 months upwards
6 months upwards |
a) February to March b) November to December. In very endemic areas repeat after six months.
Once a year
| |
Deworming | Consult the Vet. | As an when necessary (consult the Vet. officer) | a) Regularly for 6months-1yr old b) Regularly (consult the local Vet officer) | |
Dipping | Consult the Vet. | 6 Months upwards(consult the Vet. officer) | Monthly during wet season Quarterly during dry season | |
Heat Detection | Heat is the period when the female will allow mating. A healthy mature non pregnant animal comes on heat every 17 – 21 days. Animals on heat exhibits the following signs:
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Mating/Servicing | Animals exhibiting heat signs can be served during 24 – 36 hours after the onset of heat. Flush ewes/does for about 2 weeks before mating time to increase conception rate.
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Gestation | Gestation is the period between conception and birth and it takes 140 -145 days for goats and 150 – 155 days for sheep. During gestation the animal must:
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Parturition/Birth | Confirm time of parturition/birth with these signs:
The farmer must:
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Castration | With a burdizzo castrate young male, which will not be used for breeding after weaning at 3 months. This prevents fighting among males and helps the non-breeding males to grow faster.
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Weaning | Lambs/kids are weaned at 3 months old; to allow the mother come on heat for another cycle of reproduction. | |||
Tagging | Tagging of animals is for easy identification and traceability. Tag animals before weaning. | |||
Culling | Cull out unproductive and undesirable animals from the flock to maintain productivity. | |||
Biosecurity Measures | Maintain the following biosecurity measures.
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Key Risks Along The Value Chain
Key Risks Along the Value Chain and Mitigation Measures
Value Chain Actions | Key Risks and Challenges | Mitigation Measures |
Input Supply
| Unavailability of quality breeding stock. |
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Unavailability of prepared feed (concentrate) as supplementary feed. |
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Limited access and high cost of potent veterinary drugs. |
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Unavailability of potent vaccines in most districts. | Resource Veterinary Services Directorate to produce vaccines locally. | |
Limited access to the services of animal production and veterinary officers. |
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Finance | Limited equity capital and poor access to credit facilities |
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High cost of capital. | Provide concessionary loan package for livestock farmers.
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Production | Frequent cases of mortality from plastic bag ingestion and poisoning |
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Losses from theft |
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Bad flock management/production techniques. | Promote training/mentorship programme. | |
Poor housing/wrongful siting of farm. | Ensure strict guidance by Animal Production Expert. | |
Poor bio security systems. | Design, train and enforce biosecurity measures. | |
Marketing | Unavailability of effective standard pricing system. | Encourage selling of live animals using live weight. |
Lack of appropriate livestock market infrastructure. |
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Lack of appropriate transport facilities. | Encourage private transporters to invest in this area. | |
Processing | Inadequate number of abattoirs. | Provide financial incentives for entrepreneurs to set-up abattoirs. |
Lack of appropriate packaging of meat. | Promote investment into meat processing and packaging. | |
Low quality of meat sold at retail level. | Train processor on meat hygiene and quality and ensure strict adherence. | |
Lack of capital to invest in small to medium scale processing equipment. | Train and support processors/farmers financially to acquire small to medium scale processing equipment. | |
Consumption | Sophisticated consumer taste | Train farmers and processors on consumer preference |
Meat safety standards not adhered to. | Train and enforce meat safety standards. |
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Pests, Diseases, Symptoms and Control Measures
Pests and Diseases that Affect Small Ruminants
Disease | Symptom | Control Measures and Prevention |
Pneumonia
| Laboured breathing, coughing, nasal discharges, lacrimation, and anorexia. | Treat with Oxytetracycline |
Brucellosis
| Abortions in late pregnancy and subsequently high rate of infertility | Affected animals are not treated but culled and destroyed.
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Footrot
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| Treat with penicillin-streptomycin.
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Anthrax Disease
| Extreme dullness, high fever, widespread hemorrhages, dysentery and usually death within 48 hours. | Prompt diagnosis, prevention of contamination, preferably by the deep burial of unopened carcases and disinfection of the immediate environment. Carried out annual vaccination. |
Heartwater (Cowdriasis) (Tick- borne non-infectious bacteria disease) |
| Acaricidal control of the vectors must be frequent and efficient |
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Market Information
Market Information
Marketing may be considered as the heart-beat of any successful enterprise and it is equally important in small ruminant production. Most small ruminants consumed in Ghana are imported from neighboring countries. Farmers sell live animals to aggregators, butchers, “chop bar” operators and restaurants. However, few farmers sell processed meat to their clients.
It is important that prospective farmer considers the following:
- Carefully research to be sure of where and how his product will be marketed.
- Approach supermarkets, restaurant and chop bar operators, who may be viable clients.
- Sell live animals using scales to prevent any possible losses
Small ruminants are normally sold to middlemen/aggregators who in turn transport them to secondary markets and sell to individuals and processors. In most cases, middlemen act as price brokers between traders and butchers. Few farmers sell processed meat to their clients.
Regional prices of per kilo Mutton/Chevon
SN | REGION | PRICE (Gh ¢)/KILO |
1 | Ashanti | 30.00 |
2 | Greater Accra | 30.00 |
3 | Bono | 28.00 |
4 | Ahafo | 28.00 |
5 | Bono East | 28.00 |
6 | Central | 26.00 |
7 | Eastern | 24.00 |
8 | North East | 24.00 |
9 | Northern | 22.00 |
10 | Savanna | 24.00 |
11 | Oti | 22.00 |
12 | Volta | 30.00 |
13 | Upper East | 26.00 |
14 | Upper West | 22.00 |
15 | Western North | 26.00 |
16 | Western | 28.00 |
17 | Average price | 26.13 |
Source- Animal Production Directorate/MoFA
World Prices of Lamb 2000-2022
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Enterprise Budget for Small Ruminants
Enterprise Budget for Small Ruminants
Enterprise Budget
SN | ASSUMED PRODUCTION PARAMETERS | |
1 | Fertility rate of Nanny/Ewe | 80% |
2 | Kidding/lambing/year | 1.7 |
3 | Litter size (20% twining) | 1.2 |
4 | Mortality | 5% |
5 | Breeding Gimmers (Female) | 50 |
6 | Breeding Buck/Ram (Male) | 3 |
7 | Entrepreneur has land resource |
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SN | INPUTS NEEDED |
1 | Breeding stock |
2 | Land |
3 | Housing/equipment |
4 | Pasture and fodder |
5 | Breeding Stock |
6 | Medication (veterinary drugs and vaccination) |
7 | Labour |
STOCK DYNAMICS | ||||||||
YEAR | BREEDING STOCK | FERTILITY (80%) | NO. LAMBING /KIDDING/YR | AV. LITTER SIZE | Expected litter No. | MORTALITY (5%) | WEANED/FATTEN FOR SALE | Live Sale 22kg at GH¢ 20/kg |
0 | 50 | 0.80 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 81.6 | 4.08 | - | - |
1 | 50 | 0.80 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 81.6 | 4.08 | 155.04 | 68,217.60 |
2 | 50 | 0.80 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 81.6 | 4.08 | 155.04 | 71,628.48 |
3 | 50 | 0.80 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 81.6 | 4.08 | 155.04 | 75,039.36 |
4 | 50 | 0.80 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 81.6 | 4.08 | 155.04 | 78,450.24 |
Input Costing | ||
ITEM | AMOUNT GH¢ | AMOUNT $ |
Fixed Assets | ||
Cost of Housing Structure | 15,000.00 | 2,678.57 |
Equipment (Weighing scale, wheel barrow, spade etc) | 5,000.00 | 892.86 |
Sub-Total Cost (Fixed Assets) | 20,000.00 | 3,571.43 |
Variable Cost | ||
Supplementary feeding @ 20p/day/animal | 9,855.00 | 1,759.82 |
Vaccination/Drugs | 1,000.00 | 178.57 |
Female sheep/gimmers (50) @ 450 | 22,500.00 | 4,017.86 |
Male Sheep/Rams (3) @ 450 | 1,350.00 | 241.07 |
Pasture development (2 hectares) | 3,000.00 | 535.71 |
Sub-Total (Variable Cost) | 37,705.00 | 6,733.04 |
Overhead Cost | ||
Utilities | 1,500.00 | 267.86 |
Labour (1 labourer @ 400/month) | 4,800.00 | 857.14 |
Pasture maintenance (2 hectares) | 1,200 | 214.29 |
Sub-Total (Overhead Cost) | 7,500.00 | 1,339.29 |
TOTAL COST | 65,205.00 | 11,643.75 |
Profit analysis
A/C Heading | PERIOD | ||||
Y0 | Y1 | Y2 | Y3 | Y4 | |
Revenue | 0 | 68,217.60 | 71,628.48 | 75,039.36 | 78,450.24 |
Fixed cost Dep (20%) | 4,000.00 | 4,000.00 | 4,000.00 | 4,000.00 | 4,000.00 |
Variable cost | 37,705.00 | 10,855.00 | 10,855.00 | 10,855.00 | 10,855.00 |
Overhead cost | 7,500.00 | 7,500.00 | 7,500.00 | 7,500.00 | 7,500.00 |
Total Cost | 49,205.00 | 22,355.00 | 22,355.00 | 22,355.00 | 22,355.00 |
Profit before tax | (49,205.00) | 45,862.60 | 49,273.48 | 52,684.36 | 56,095.24 |
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Key Policies and Programmes
Credit Policies
The Government of Ghana has a dedicated bank, the Agricultural Development Bank, mandated to take care of agricultural financing. The bank has recently set aside an amount of Five Hundred Million (GH¢ 500,000,000.00) for promotion of livestock in the country at a concessionary rate.
Tariffs
Tariffs on imported meat are set to raise revenue and competitiveness of the indigenous livestock industry. The level of tariffs on imported meat and meat products is 20 percent of Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) of the import. Other taxes and levies are:
- Value Added Tax (VAT): 12.5 per cent
- National Health Insurance Levy: 2.5 percent (collected by the VAT Secretariat)
- Export Development and Investment Fund Levy: 0.5 percent
- Inspection Fee: 1 percent
- ECOWAS Levy: 0.5 percent
- Ghana Customs Network: 0.4 percent of CIF.
Tax Holidays
Sheep/Goats enterprises enjoys 5 years tax holidays in Ghana
The Government of Ghana Policies
Measures and regulations aimed at the development of the livestock industry are based on a set of strategies specified in the Livestock Development Policy. These strategies target the different categories of actors in the livestock sector, and address issues of breed improvement, production, health management, processing, and marketing. Some of the key strategies being implemented are:
- Focus on improving animal health
- Improve access to quality feed and water
- Enhance the performance of indigenous breeds through a programme of selection and Artificial Insemination (AI)
- Develop commercial poultry as the priority for improving meat supply in the short term, while measures are implemented to transform smallholder production into profitable enterprises and
- Improve access of operators to technology and appropriate financial instruments to enhance their competitiveness with imports
International Trade Policies
Given the current policy of trade liberalization, trade policy will be used to promote the international competitiveness of domestic enterprises. The specific policy objectives are to:
- Improve export Competitiveness
- Diversify and increase exports and markets and
- Accelerate economic integration with other regional and/or sub-regional states.
Current Project in the Livestock Sub-sector
The Government of Ghana has designed a 5-year strategic programme: “Rearing for Food and Jobs” which is one of the 5 modules of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ).
The objective is to develop a competitive and more efficient livestock industry that increases domestic production, reduces importation of livestock products and contributes to employment generation and to the improvement of livelihoods of livestock value chain actors and the national economy.
The RFJ focuses on five key livestock species consisting: dairy cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry.
Under RFJ Small ruminant production is to receive a boost through the supply of breeding stock on credit in-kind basis.
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Agriculture in Africa Media LBG| Email: Ghana@agricinafrica.com
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