INCREASING COST OF GUINEA FOWL WORRIES RESIDENTS (PAGE 18, NOV 12, 2010)

MANY lovers of guinea fowl in Tamale are worried that soon they will not be able to afford this nutritious delicacy as the price of the product has tripled within a short time.
Most food vendors are selling a little piece of guinea fowl, such as the thigh or shoulder, for not less than GH¢1.50 and this is a disincentive to average income earners, who form the majority of the population.
Just some few months ago, one could purchase this same piece of meat at 50Gp. A full grilled guinea fowl now sells at GH¢10 and above.
“I have stopped buying guinea fowl because it is becoming expensive. When I buy it, the cost of my food goes above GH¢2, which is unsustainable for an average income earner like me,” Mr Francis Npong, a media practitioner, told the Daily Graphic.
“The fault is not ours,” a food vendor, Hajia Ayisha, stated, noting that the price of the meat is determined by the market price for the full fowl, which she said was currently hovering between GH¢8 and GH¢12.
Vendors of guinea fowl attribute the increasing cost of the white-spotted black-feathered bird to the overwhelming increase in its demand, which has not been met with a corresponding increase in supply.
The increase in demand is largely due to more awareness of the good taste and nutritious nature of the guinea fowl among the public. The flesh is dark and dry and has a pleasant flavour.
Nutrition experts note that the flesh of the guinea fowl is rich in various nutrients, including protein, vitamins and fatty acids. It is also said to be low in cholesterol and, therefore, less dangerous to human health.
As a result of these advantages, service providers in the food and hospitality industry now serve guinea fowl as a regular meal, which was not the case some few years ago.
In view of this, many are of the opinion that the government needs to take a critical look at boosting guinea fowl production because, apart from its nutritional qualities, guinea fowl rearing also has the propensity to improve incomes of small rural farming households.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gees Fresh Meat Products and Packaging Company in Tamale, Mr Kofi Gyamfi, the demand for guinea fowl by southerners and others who visited the north was very high.
He noted that if attention was given to that industry, many Ghanaians would patronise guinea fowl products and that would increase the incomes of livestock farmers who raise the bird.
The Co-ordinator of the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP), Mr Roy Ayariga, also shares a similar view.
He said with the appropriate technology, farmers could make huge incomes from the production and sale of guinea fowl products.
Mr Ayariga said the NRGP, which is a $104m agricultural support project, had a component that sought to improve livestock rearing, with guinea fowls being one of the important birds being considered.
“We want to help guinea fowl farmers to use effective methods to increase production, such as the use of hatcheries,” he stated, adding, “Those engaged in the processing and sale of the flesh are also to be supported to improve the storage and packaging aspects.”