Mahama promises free chicken thigh for school children if elected

• Posted on May 5, 2016
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

School children are to expect one free chicken thigh for lunch if PNC Presidential candidate Dr. Edward Mahama, wins the November 2016 elections.

He explained on Pulse on the Joy News channel the move is to radically boost local production of maize and poultry, industries dominated by imports.

After four attempts, Edward Mahama believes he will be fifth time lucky in his latest bid to become president. He has contested the presidency more than any other in Ghanaian history.

But in an interview with Francis Abban on Pulse Wednesday, the US-trained medical doctor explained that poor media coverage hampered his efforts to again national acceptance in previous elections.

At the 1996 general election, only a few radio stations were operational in Ghana, typifying a weak media landscape with limited reach.

But fast forward to 2016 a very liberal media network means his message will reach far more Ghanaians that was possible in the past when he vied for the Presidency.

He even has a website to push his message to Ghanaians having an internet connection, he said. Now the propagation of his message will be difficult to stop and this is expected to change voter perception about  the viability of his campaign, the trained surgeon said confidently.

Picking on one such message, Dr. Edward Mahama noted that the key to economic independence is local production of goods and boosting the consumption of locally produced goods.

He expressed shock that Ghana still imports $400million worth of rice in a country whose agricultural potential has become a cliché.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Ghana imports at least 171, 000 metric tons of chicken last year. The demand for imported chicken is expected to hit $198 million US by the close of 2016, according to Business Day. Local production of poultry has a 10% market share according to reports.

Zooming in on a policy initiative he believes can reverse the trend, Edward Mahama said, adding chicken thigh to the menu of school children under the Ghana School Feeding Programme is a simple policy that can bring great fortunes to poultry farmers.

He said the need to feed poultry will directly result in a boost in maize production. Through corn and chicken, Ghana’s weak local production base can witness record boost.

A strong agricultural production will also strengthen Ghana’s currency, the cedi,  weakened by the Ghanaian culture of imports.

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