Restaurant operators in the northern regions prefer locally reared fowls. "Local fowls dominate the markets because the people have not only developed a taste for them but also because they are cheaper than broilers," Mrs. Elizabeth Panin, a poultry farmer from the Upper East region told the GNA in an interview at a seminar for farmers in the industry in Accra.

"Local birds farming is very lucrative since profit margins are high," she said.

The seminar organised by the Ghana Branch of the World Poultry Science Association was on the theme: "Achieving high productivity in poultry production through good quality feed formulation and modern farm management."

Mrs Panin said the people also find the meat of chicken from poultry farms too soft.

As a result poultry farmers in the northern regions find their business unproductive as profit margins dwindle and their products stay a long time in deep freezers.

She said if nothing was done to generate awareness of the advantage of chicken reared on poultry farms most farms would collapse.

Reacting, Dr. Francis Boachie, Vice President of the Poultry Association assured Mrs Panin that the situation would change with time.

He said efforts to develop commercial poultry in the country have failed to yield the desired results because of strong dependence on expensive imported inputs.

The Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Matthew Antwi said the mportation of poultry products cannot be stopped if scientists and researchers fail to come out with solutions to the high feeding cost of poultry.

He said the feed is a major cause of high poultry prices. "The cost, as well as the quality of feed, affects the final poultry products." The Minister promised government's help for researchers to ensure that imported poultry products are made unattractive to local consumers in future.

Dr Antwi said the current 10 per cent import duty on poultry products is creating problems for local farmers who cannot compete.

He said per capita consumption of poultry products in the country is among the lowest in the world. "The average consumption of chicken is 1.2 kilograms per person per year as compared to a world average of 9.7 kilograms. The government cannot accept this situation and the trend must therefore be reversed."