A poultry farm in Ghana’s Eastern Region has quadrupled its bird stock and tripled its workforce after accessing a government-backed credit facility, offering a concrete example of what targeted financial intervention can deliver for small agribusinesses operating outside the main commercial centres.
Selix Farms, based in New Akrade in the Asuogyaman District, used a GH¢300,000 facility under the Post-COVID-19 Skills Development and Productivity Enhancement Project (PSDPEP) to overhaul its infrastructure, expand production capacity, and move from a fragile small-scale operation toward a more commercially viable poultry business.
The farm was founded roughly three and a half years ago by Felix Amponsah and his wife, Evelyn, initially as a mango cultivation enterprise. After identifying strong domestic demand in the egg market, the couple pivoted into poultry, beginning with a flock of 2,000 birds. Early growth was constrained by heat management challenges, inadequate housing, and limited access to capital.
The PSDPEP funding changed that trajectory. Bird population has since climbed to approximately 8,300, with daily output now averaging 246 crates of eggs, equivalent to more than 8,000 eggs distributed into urban markets including Tema and Ashaiman. The workforce has grown from five to 15 employees, with the expansion also bringing women into roles that did not previously exist at the farm. Amponsah said the programme’s support had been decisive in accelerating the farm’s growth, adding that its combination of low-interest financing and technical assistance addressed gaps that conventional lending had not.
Selix Farms is not alone. NewsGhana earlier reported that Young Wealth Investments in Ada West similarly used a GH¢300,000 PSDPEP facility to triple its out-grower network and transition to year-round production, signalling a pattern of measurable impact across the programme’s beneficiaries.
Operational constraints remain. The farm currently depends on third-party milling for its feed, a dependency Amponsah said affects consistency and efficiency. To resolve this, Selix Farms is planning an on-site feed mill as part of a vertical integration strategy. Staff accommodation is also under consideration to address commuting challenges and improve daily operational reliability.
The business has begun diversifying into pig farming. The newly established piggery is intended to underpin longer-term plans to enter value-added processing, allowing the company to capture a greater share of the livestock supply chain beyond primary production.
“The long-term vision is to transition from primary production to processing of finished products,” Amponsah said, a direction that aligns with the government’s broader industrialisation and agribusiness transformation agenda.
Staff member Desmond Okudzeto said the farm’s growth had improved livelihoods, providing stable income and practical skills in poultry management, including animal care and medication handling, while also enabling some employees to develop side ventures.
PSDPEP, backed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and implemented through the Social Investment Fund (SIF), targets approximately 25,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises nationally across agriculture, manufacturing, and hospitality, offering financing at rates of up to 12 percent alongside business development support.
