Ablekuma North Member of Parliament, Ewurabena Aubynn, has moved beyond the distribution of birds under the government’s Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative to establish a more sustainable constituency-based agricultural enterprise designed to create jobs, support vulnerable residents and give students practical farming experience.
The initiative has seen the establishment of the Ablekuma North Constituency Poultry Farm with plans to expand the facility into a broader agricultural project, including fish farming.
Outdooring the project at Wesley Grammar Senior High School in Accra, Madam Ewurabena Aubynn said her objective was to ensure that the free birds distribution does not become a one-off distribution exercise but was converted into a sustainable livelihood opportunity for constituents.
“We don’t want it to be a one-time programme or a one-time beneficiary programme; rather, we want something sustainable for the constituents,” she said.
According to the MP, the farm will create direct employment for farm hands while its expansion will open opportunities for women to benefit from the sale of eggs and other farm produce.
She said proceeds from the farm would also contribute to the welfare of aged persons in the constituency, making the project both an economic and social intervention.
The lawmaker further identified Wesley Grammar’s Agricultural and Sciences Departments as key beneficiaries, explaining that the facility would provide students with first-hand practical experience to complement classroom learning.
She said the poultry project was only the beginning of a broader agricultural plan for the constituency, with the eventual addition of catfish farming and other facilities to transform the site into a fully blown farm.
Several birds were distributed to some individuals and households under the Nkoko Nkitinkiti initiative.
The MP urged beneficiaries of the government’s bird distribution programme to treat the opportunity as a potential career rather than simply another government intervention.
“They should see that it’s a career path that they are also building,” she said, emphasizing that the success of the programme would depend on beneficiaries taking proper care of the birds and growing their enterprises.
The Ablekuma North Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Musa Adamu Kalamu, urged beneficiaries to make productive use of the opportunity, saying the municipality was determined to make Ablekuma North a model for the implementation of the programme.
He said the success of the initiative could position the constituency to attract further opportunities and support.
Accrding to him, it is tge objective of the MP and his outfit to turn the Nkoko Nkitinkiti from a distribution programme into a sustainable constituency asset capable of generating livelihoods long after the initial birds are gone.
Headmistress of Wesley Grammar SHS, Mrs Barbara Juliet Takyiwaa Thompson, welcomed the project, saying it would significantly enhance practical learning for students, particularly those in the Agriculture and Science departments.
She assured the MP and the Municipal Assembly that the school would protect and maintain the facility.