Fiifi Boafo, the former Head of Public Affairs at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has said the Mahama government’s Nkoko Nkitinkiti programme is a waste of state resources.
According to Fiifi Boafo, the Nkoko Nkitinkiti programme is incapable of creating sustainable poultry businesses.
He quizzed the rationale behind distributing only a few birds to beneficiaries.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Friday, July 10, Fiifi Boafo stated, “The Nkoko Nkitinkiti is a complete waste of state resources, nothing more, nothing less”.
“If you say that you are giving people chickens to rear and you give them two, what are they going to use them for? If not for them to just enjoy them, what business can anybody create with two? What sort of model is that?” he questioned.
“What was the target? What did we seek to realise from this? What has been the result after a year?” he asked.
“Has it reduced imports, and by what percentage? What are the savings that we’ve made? How much money have we invested in it, and what benefit have we received as a result?” he said.
He added, “What was the business model around this whole Nkoko Nkitinkiti, and how many chickens do we give to people? Initially, we were told 50, reduced to 15, now to two”.
“So it just demonstrates the point that what the government claimed it was going to do totally failed. They did not realise it.”
“Ask yourself, five chickens, what are you going to do with that? Which business are you going to run with five?” he asked, describing the initiative as “just an unnecessary use of state resources.”
Fiifi Boafo added, “Have you forgotten they told us they were going to establish a Women’s Bank? Where is it? It didn’t happen”.
“They said they were going to pay cocoa farmers GH¢7,000 a bag. What happened? They ended up paying them GH¢2,500.”
“They said they were going to do the 24-hour economy. What has happened to the 24-hour economy? Now we are hearing stories.”
“They said they were going to fight galamsey. The situation has gotten worse. Not a single one of them has given us results. They are only going on with mere rhetoric, not giving us any result,” he said.
His comments come on the back of Eric Opoku, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, revealing that some beneficiaries of Nkoko Nkitinkiti projects have consumed the birds.
The Agric Minister expressed concern over reports that some households are slaughtering and consuming birds.
According to the Agric Minister, the immediate consumption of the birds deviates from the purpose of the programme.
He highlighted that the birds were given to people to rear them and to sell them to reinvest.
Speaking when he appeared before Parliament’s Committee on Assurances on July 9, 2026, the Agric Minister stated, “Some decided to kill and eat all, infact they were even sending me videos that, ‘ Honourable, we are eating everything, but this is not meant for that immediate consumption; we just wanted people to rear them, sell and reinvest so it becomes business ‘.
He added, “Even though we don’t encourage that, we wanted them to capitalise on them to earn something for their livelihood. If that is what they have decided to do at the national level in aggregation, it also helps.
If they are able to build a good taste for locally produced poultry, that is a big plus for us”.
It will be recalled that President John Dramani Mahama has officially launched the “Nkoko Nkitinkiti” initiative.
The flagship NDC nationwide programme aimed at transforming household poultry production and revitalising Ghana’s poultry industry.
President Mahama, at the launch in Kumasi on Wednesday, November 12, described the initiative as a bold and practical step towards achieving food self-sufficiency.
@ghnow_ Ga Mantse spotted at Alajo during the clean-up exercise, joining efforts to promote a cleaner and healthier environment. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – Esprit_Morale
