The Executive Director of the Institute for Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP), Prof. Isaac Boadi, has criticised the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, over comments suggesting that some beneficiaries of the government’s Nkoko Nkitinkiti programme were consuming the birds distributed under the initiative rather than breeding them.
Speaking on the issue, he said the Minister should have used his appearance before Parliament’s Assurance Committee to account for the programme’s achievements and demonstrate its impact.
“When he appeared before the Assurance Committee, he was supposed to tell us the gains. He was supposed to show us where we could get some of the birds from the Nkoko Nkitinkiti project,” Prof. Boadi said.
According to him, the Minister’s disclosure that he had received videos showing some beneficiaries consuming the birds instead of breeding them had created an unfavourable public perception of the initiative.
“When he said he was receiving videos that people were consuming the birds, for me, he destroyed the initiative with that statement,” he stated.
Prof. Boadi maintained that the comments overshadowed the programme’s objectives and could discourage public participation.
“Listening to him on that day, he destroyed the entire programme,” he added.
He called on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to publish detailed information on the number of birds distributed, survival and breeding rates, production outcomes and the overall impact of the programme on local poultry farmers.
Prof. Boadi emphasised that transparent reporting and effective communication were essential to sustaining public confidence in government interventions, arguing that officials should focus on demonstrating measurable results while addressing implementation challenges.
