Photo credit: Iaroslav Konnikov/Shutterstock.
If you closely examine the Ghanaian poultry landscape, you will realize that most farmers are rearing chickens to produce eggs. Sure, layer farming can be very lucrative, but the returns you could get from investing in broiler farming could be staggering. Imagine if you produce and sell 400 broilers every two months. That would potentially fetch you GH¢ 96,000 in revenue (out of which GH¢ 9,600 is profit) in just a year.
You may be asking, “So if one could make this much from broilers, why don’t people venture into it?” The reason is unlike with egg production, most farmers find it impossible to compete on price since the cost of raising birds in Ghana is quite high. For instance, you could get a box of chicken thighs (10 kg) imported from Brazil for GH₵ 110. In two months, the time required for a broiler to reach slaughter weight, a broiler will weigh around 4Kg. Since Ghanaian farmers typically have to sell broilers for at least GH₵ 40, approximately 10kg of the locally reared broilers would cost around GH₵ 100.
In hindsight, it may seem that the locally reared broiler is cheaper than the imported ones. However, the 4Kg mature broiler is not made up of thighs alone, but other components such as wings, feathers, feet and internal organs. These components may not necessarily be as marketable as chicken thighs. Hence if local farmers decided to assemble only chicken thighs in a 10kg box package, the price would surely approach GH₵ 150. Given this, most Ghanaian consumers would purchase the imported frozen chicken.
Does it mean that people do not purchase locally reared broilers? Obviously, not. People still buy the local broilers, especially during festive occasions but what happens is that farmers struggle to sell all their birds. As you already know, broilers are reared to gain significant weight in a short period. Therefore, they are very prone to cardiovascular diseases. Hence the longer they are kept without being sold, the more the risk of mortality.
By now, you might be wondering what farmers must do to sell more broilers. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Start small: You see, broiler farming is not like layer farming. Eggs are much easier to sell in Ghana as compared to broilers. Therefore, if you want to venture into broiler farming, start with a relatively small number of birds so that as you perfect your marketing tactics, you can gradually expand operations. Mind you, it is common to find farmers offloading their birds for very low prices simply because they struggle to find buyers even in peak demand seasons.
2. Consider selling on credit: Since imported chicken is much cheaper, you can entice your customers by offering credit sales. Here, instead of selling one broiler for GH¢ 40, you can dress it and sell it for GH¢ 60. Only this time you do not receive the money immediately but after two weeks. If 40% of your sales come from this strategy, your total revenue for the year now becomes GH¢ 115,200 (out of which GH¢ 28,800 is profit).
3. Boost social media presence: I have already published an article on this. Even though it was more focused on egg production, the principles still hold for broiler production.
To conclude, broiler farming, even though slightly harder to navigate compared to egg production, could be the key to unlocking economic prosperity for many. The key is to improve your marketing skills then gradually, you can expand operations.
If you are reading this, my guess is you want to venture into broiler production but do not fully understand the financial requirement to start and how much return you can get on your investment. Worry no more. We can draft you a professional business that will provide you with all the necessary financial data to help your farm succeed. Just contact us, we will be glad to assist you.
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