Akate Farms increases poultry production

In a chat with the Graphic Business, Alhaji Abdul Salam Akate, the CEO of Akate Farms, which employs over 500 persons directly and over 1,000 indirectly, believes that he set out over 26 years ago to engage in a genuine venture to earn a living and provide decent employment for others. “The rest is the blessings of Allah,” he says.

“I get fulfilled and excited whenever I see a group of my workers excited at work. This keeps me going”, Alhaji who is the recipient of the prestigious 2007 National Best Framer, added.

The name Akate Farms as it’s popularly called is synonymous with poultry products in Ghana and other West African countries over the decades and continues to produce high quality and affordable poultry products, especially birds and eggs, for dining tables in Ghana and its neighbouring nations.

Not satisfied with this huge feat, the company that derived its name from its owner, the gentle-mannered Alhaji Akate, is in the final stages of completing its battery cages to increase egg production and cut down cost.

Its target is to produce 300,000 units of eggs a day by October this year.

Startling bird population

The statistics of the birds’ population are startling and an indication of a local industry that is battle ready to compete with similar players not only in the sub-region but on the global stage.

Currently, the farm has over 450,000 layers that churn out 180,000 eggs daily. Its parent stock of breeders total over 100,000 birds and can also boast 30,000 broilers.

Even Guinea fowl rearing, which is not a core business of the farm, now has over 34,000 birds, plus a sizeable number of turkeys.

Battery cage 

Although the numbers are encouraging and position Akate Farms as the largest poultry farm in an industry that had seen most giants fall through over the years, this company continues to put in strategies to double production in the shortest possible time.

One of such innovative strategy is that by October this year, when the technical experts complete with the installation of the battery cage electronic system, Akate farms will produce 10,000 crates per day (300,000 units of eggs each day).

It has resorted to the new technology to save time, resources and also reduce human contacts.

With the battery cage system, feed usage is maximised, less labour would be used while space would be maximised and save cots in an industry where cost is on the daily ascendency.

Egg setting/ hatching 

Akate Farms, a household name in Ghana uses two sets of machines with one capable of setting 691,200 eggs at a go while the other could churn out 115,200 eggs into day olds.

The eggs have to be set first before they are hatched.

With an average of 90,000 layer chicks per week, the company produces 360,000 layers and almost the same amount of cocks in a month.

These day old chicks are used firstly to replenish the company’s stock while some are sold to some bourgeoning poultry farms in Ghana and those in the sub region.

Hatching these high number of day old chicks takes place twice a week and has an 82 per cent success rate.

Workforce

It is a known fact that other factories have folded up while other poultry farms have diversified in the face of importation of cheap and unhealthy poultry products from abroad, however, Akati farms continue to increase its workforce, basically to offer jobs to more young ladies and gentlemen.

Over 480 people are employed fully by the company while 70 otherS are engaged as casual workers with over a 1000 earning their living through outgrowing farming in the farms where maize are cultivated to feed the feed mill.

Staff enjoy some enticing benefits such as assistant to acquire land and put up houses to house their families, whiles other are assisted with other fringe benefits.

It is no surprise at the harmonious working relationship that subsist in the company.

Feed mill

The large scale feed mill that produces feed for the over one million birds located at Bosore in the Asokore Mampong, produces 14 tonnes of feed per hour totalling 336 tonnes of feed.

Nearly all the inputs for making high quality feed are locally made with exception of protein concentrate.

Out growers 

Currently over 3,000 acres of land are under cultivation of maize to feed the feed mill. Akate Farms believes in supporting not only its employees but had extended such generosity to the nearly 1,000 farmers who have been engaged in the cultivation of large tracts of land for maize to feed the feed mill.

Located in Tumu in Upper West and Ejura in the Ashanti Region, these large tracts farms could not satisfy the mill that produces the 14 tonnes of feed per hour, a situation which demand that they search for some quantity from the outside market to top up.

Challenges

With the introduction of the new electricity tariffs recently, Akate Farms pays a hooping Ghc110, 000 every month, an amount which is affecting the finances of the company badly.

Electricity supply to the feed mill, the hatchery, the farms and other areas such as administration required constant supply and standard supply because fluctuations and rationings always had a negative impact on the work.

To forestall any interruptions of electricity supply especially during hatchery and nursing of care of day old chicks which demanded constant temperatures to let them stay alive, it had to mount high capacity generators.

These generators consumed large quantities of fuel thereby increasing cost of production. Another challenge is the huge electricity bills in an era of high cost of doing business.

Taxes

Another problem that is affecting the operations of the company is the high import duties and the recently introduced Special Levy on agricultural coupled with high interest rates.

Market

Large quantities of day old chicks, chicken and guinea fowl kids are transported from Kumasi on demand to many towns in Togo, Burkina Faso and Benin.

Alhaji Abdul Salam Akate 

Alahji, as he is affectionately referred to by both young and old, employee and their family members, described the company not only as a business concern but a family, where everybody, from the top to the bottom are made feel at home.

“Hard work, integrity, honesty and the fear of God and the commitment to others” he insisted is what has kept the company doing very well in the face of all challenge in the industry.

Irrigation 

With the increasing threat of global warming and change of rainfall pattern affecting the age old raid-fed agricultural in the country, Alhaji revealed to the Graphic Business that the company had acquired a three mile square land at Amenten in Ejura for the cultivation of maize through irrigation.

This he explained would also provide employment for some people in the country, a move that ties in with vision of the company that is “To be the leading integrated poultry farming firm in the whole of West Africa, setting the pace in generating high industry returns on investments in an employee-welfare friendly environment.”

Post-harvest losses 

The Chief Executive of Akate Farms, spoke extensively about his concerns about post-harvest losses which eat away the sweat of most farmers and to forestall that his outfit had secured a combine harvester and silos to reduce the cancer that had been the bane of many farmers in the country.

Aside the nearly one million birds under its care, the company had also put into cultivation 39 acres of land under cultivation for citrus, mango, plantain, mango, plantain, maize, cassava, yam, pineapple and rice.

Know This

It is not only staff who have benefitted from the benevolence culture of the company from the provision of support to acquire land and assistance to build personal roofs under the heads of the staff and their family, others also continue to enjoy.

Currently brilliant but needy children are provided with financial aid to further their education amounting to about GH¢40,000 annually.