July 20, 2021

Rockland farms: defying the odds to thrive in the Ghanaian poultry sector

Animal Production Related

Ghana

In 2011, Ms. Edith Wheatland decided to leave her job in Rockland County, USA to go back to Ghana and venture into poultry farming. Her main motivation was to start an enterprise that would improve the livelihoods of single and teenage mothers. She also wanted to ensure a steady supply of nutritious, affordable poultry products for low and medium-income households in Ghana. 11 years later, her company-Rockland Farms has grown into one of the largest poultry producers in the country and has championed the inclusion of women in a male-dominated sector. Through this enterprise, Edith has created employment for 64 youths and 21 women. When asked about the progress of her efforts to promote women inclusion in the poultry sector, this is what she had to say:

More women are now getting into the poultry space as a result of the motivation from the works of some of us in the industry. It is now easier to acquire knowledge in poultry as compared to before and this has made the industry attractive to many women.

Receiving international recognition: Dare to defy award-2021

Given her passion and efforts in promoting sustainable and inclusive agribusiness, Edith has scooped several awards as a trailblazer for creating solutions that impact communities. On 30^th June 2021, she received an award in the GIZ Women in Agribusiness awards, in the Dare to Defy category. This award recognizes women running successful agribusiness and defying the odds to make a significant impact to communities. She comments:

I felt honoured to receive this award. The smiles and joy I see on the female poultry producers that I mentor to venture into sustainable poultry farming keep me going. I feel that this award is dedicated to them. I don’t even have the right words to explain what I felt after scooping this award, but such moments motivate me to keep going.

While Edith states that she is still in the process of fully realizing her mission, one of the most significant moments she has experienced was when the president of the Republic of Ghana paid her a courtesy call. It was exciting as well as inspiring to receive recognition from the leader of the Republic of Ghana. Edith narrates:

My proudest moment as Founder of Rockland Farms is when the President of Ghana visited me and complimented me for the work I have done. He told me in the presence of everybody during the visit that he was shocked with what he had seen, knowing that the poultry industry is male-dominated.

Availing affordable nutritious poultry products to low-income consumers

In partnership with 2SCALE, Rockland Farms is availing affordable, nutritious chicken pre-cuts to low-income consumers in Ghana. The aim is to improve the nutrition of at least 20,000 Base of Pyramid (BoP) consumers. In addition, through this partnership, more female producers are engaged as smallholder broiler growers to strengthen inclusivity in this male-dominated sector. A key component in this partnership is promoting the marketing of chicken precuts. Branded ‘Akoko Fresh’, these well packaged precuts will provide dietary diversity to most low-income consumers who see chicken as food for the rich. On the partnership and its impact on BoP consumers, Khalid Idrissu, the 2SCALE Partnership Facilitator for the Rockland Farms Partnership says:

Even though there have been attempts by a few local chicken processors to supply local chicken products (including precuts) as alternatives to imported chicken, these have mostly been targeted at the middle income class. These precuts have not addressed the nutritional needs of low income consumers as the prices of these precuts are still beyond the reach of most low income consumers. With support from 2SCALE, Rockland Farms will provide precuts that are within the affordability range of low income consumers. These precuts will be packaged according to the specific needs of these low income consumers as captured in the market survey.

Edith says that this partnership has given her new insights when it comes to the marketing and branding of chicken products.

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