USDA and WISHH Partner in Ghana Poultry and Feed Project

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the American Soybean Association’s (ASA’s) World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) Program are partnering to develop a major project to develop the poultry and feed sectors in Ghana.

The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Food for Progress Program helps emerging economies develop stronger, more modern agricultural sectors to improve productivity and expand trade, and sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions that holds the highest potential for return on investment in agricultural development.

The U.S. is one of Ghana’s key trading partners, with two-way trade between the two countries reaching a value of US$1.45 billion in 2014 according to the U.S. State Department.

The Ghanaian poultry industry has deteriorated over the past 30 years, and the government hopes that the project will increase the supply of meat and eggs to meet growing demand, and trigger growth in the country’s maize and soy industries as well.

The large-scale project will train Ghanaian poultry producers, procure feed ingredients including 15,000 tons of U.S. soybean meal, promote improved use of poultry feeds, storage, and handling of feedstuffs, and promote improved feed milling practices.

Driven by the macro trends indicating that growing demand for protein in developing countries will drive soy demand, WISHH has been involved in trade development, economic development, and value chain development in emerging markets since 2000. Developing countries will dominate the global growth in demand for agricultural products, which is projected to grow faster than production according to the USDA, which forecasts that developing countries will account for 92% of the total increase in global oilseed and meat imports between 2013 and 2022.

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