Apex Body of Women In Poultry Value Chain (WIPVaC-Apex Ghana), a registered umbrella Organisation that seeks to bring together all Women along the Poultry Value Chain for common interests. The goal of the organisation is to create new opportunities for women along the Poultry Value Chain to stimulate developments for the benefit of society. Partners of WIPVaC –Apex Ghana, include GIZ and Veterinarians Without Borders (VWB).
The Organization operates in all the 16 Regions in Ghana and comprises Aggregators of maize and soya, Day old chicks suppliers, Dealers in Poultry inputs such as fishmeal, concentrates, poultry drugs and poultry feed, Poultry farmers, Egg Sellers, Distributors of chicken and Guinea fowl, Processors of Poultry products.
WIPVaC-Apex Ghana has been working tirelessly to provide training and advocacy for its members in a bid to enhance the poultry sector and empower women within the industry.
By addressing the challenges facing women in the poultry sector, WIPVaC-Apex Ghana aims to contribute to the growth and development of the industry, while promoting gender equality and reducing poverty. With the support of its partners, Veterinarians Without Borders (VWB) Canada, the organization is providing capacity building for its members and other stakeholders in the industry. VWB- Canada, with support from Global Affairs Canada on its VETS project, sought to build capacity of women to empower them for sustainable poultry and Livestock production to enhance household resilience.
The support covered all the five Northern Regions from Navrongo ,Bolgatanga,to Far Hamile at the Northern Western border to Burkina Faso.The other beneficiary communities included,Naleregu ,Walewale, Tamale, Damango and Wa.
Through the training, participants are poised to take advantage of the Government’s poultry sector enhancement programme, ‘Nkokornkitinki”. Since its launch in Accra on June 2017, the Women in Poultry Value Chain-Apex Ghana has been contributing to the community through advocacies, capacity building and various social programs, including visits to orphanages, health centers, and prisons, where they donate eggs and chicken.
The recent capacity building sponsored by VWB with support from Global Affairs Canada, on poultry production and animal welfare lasted for three months. Starting from February 7th, 2025, to April 6th, 2025, the training was facilitated by Dr. Joseph Ansong Danquah, a Canadian Volunteer for VWB.
Over 300 Hundred participants, including Ibrahim Zeinab from Walewale and Sirina Zakaria, benefited from the training and learned best practices in poultry welfare and biosecurity. “The training has benefitted me a lot, from how, when, and what to feed the birds with,” Ibrahim Zeinab stated. “I used to feed my poultry birds ignorantly, but through this training, I learnt the best feeding practice.”
However, according to Comfort Asitik, National Vice President of WIPVaC-Apex Ghana, one of the major challenges facing women in the poultry sector is marketing. “The market is low due to competition from imported chicken, which is subsidized and priced lower than our local products,” she explained during a training session in Tamale on March 8th, 2025.
The organization is appealing to the government to offer loans with minimal interest to help boost production and participation in the sector. “We need loans with minimal interest to help us boost our production and participation in the sector,” Comfort Asitik stated. Additionally, the organization is seeking government support to enhance the poultry sector, which will create more jobs and contribute to economic growth.
Empowering women in the poultry sector is crucial to addressing some of the key goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including reducing poverty, achieving zero hunger, and promoting gender equality. Comfort Asitik emphasized the importance of empowering women in the poultry sector, stating, “We want to accelerate our actions to bridge the gap between women and men in the poultry sector.”
