It is easier to raise ducks in Ghana. What is lacking is a good market for these birds. Duck meat is the 7th most consumed meat in the world. The chicken comes first, followed by pork, beef, lamb meat, goat meat and turkey.
In Ghana and in some parts of the world, some people do not like ducks meat because they think ducks are generally dirtier. Yes! Ducks are messier than chickens.
They poop more than chickens and they kind of dig holes as they pick their food off the ground. Their peaks are constantly in dirty water, searching for their food but it must be noted that they do not drink the dirty water in the process. They can be kept in enclosed farms, provided with food and water and they will look as clean as the chicken. Ducks from the better-laying breeds and strains can lay well enough to earn their keep for years. Ducks are much easier to control than chickens.
Ducks of laying breeds can be easily confined with a fence only 2 feet high (as long as they have food and water and their buddies with them. They lay more eggs and are able to hatch them than chickens.
Ducks breeding should be one of the areas where the government can support poor families to venture into because they are easier to raise than chickens.
Once we are able to increase production, the government must find a means of increasing the marketability of these birds. The Chinese made a conscious effort to increase the breeding and consumption of ducks and so duck farmers are receiving the needed returns on their investments.
In 2018, the global duck and goose meat production amounted to 7.2M tonnes, surging by 3.3% against the previous year. The total output volume increased at an average annual rate of +1.8% over the period from 2007 to 2018. In 2018, approx. 3.8M heads of ducks and gooses were slaughtered worldwide; jumping by 2.3% against the previous year.
Market Forecast
2019-2025
Driven by increasing demand for duck and goose meat worldwide, the market is expected to continue an upward consumption trend over the next seven years.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
