Ghana National Association of Pig Farmers, Minutes of First General Meeting

First General Meeting of Ghana National Association of Pig Farmers

             GHANA  NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

OF PIG FARMERS (GNAPF)

                         1ST MEETING OF ASSOCIATION MEMBERS

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

VENUE B359/19 1st Road, South Odorkor Estates, Accra

DATE Saturday, 19th October, 2013 TIME 10:00 A.M.

MEMBERS PRESENT Mr. Frank F. Danchie fdanchie@yahoo.com

Mrs. Valerie B. Danchie bamfovalerie@gmail.com

Mr. Stephen Dwirah sdwirah@yahoo.com

Mr. Clement Afriye-Opoku cafriyeopoku@yahoo.com

Mrs. Marian Afriye-Opoku marian.afriyeopoku@gmail.com

Ms.Afua Ankomah hi@aoa4eva.me

Mr. George Appiah george@amenfis.com

Mr. Eli Kotoku-Elikem elikemgh@yahoo.com

Mr. Linus Victory Ray Fianyo flinusvictory@yahoo.com

Mr. Clement Kwesi Acquah cacquah69@gmail.com (For Peter Acquah)

Mr. Emmanuel E. Yankey defgee4u@gmail.com

Mr. Kartey Carbutey gafarmghana@gmail.aom

Mr. Ekow Mensah Akyeampong ekowmensah@mayflower.edu.gh

Mr. Dennis Nii Armah onelovedennis@yahoo.com

Mr. Dawuda Habibu dawunny@yahoo.com

ABSENT (with apologies) None

 

Commencement

The meeting was called to order at 11:10am. Mr. Danchie said the opening prayer after which members briefly introduced themselves as listed above.

Introduction

Mr. Mensah Akyeampong, the interim organizer, introduced the meeting as the maiden meeting of the Ghana National Association of Pig Farmers (GNAPF). He gave a brief background as to how the idea was birthed from countless posts on his blogs by pig farmers seeking information and various forms of assistance.

The formation of an association in his view will enable the harnessing resources for the benefit of all members. He informed members that the Association has been registered with the Registrar General and is currently awaiting the certificate. The website, http://www.gnapf.org/ has also been launched.

Below are some of the issues that he envisaged being addressed by the formation of the association:

-Support for pig farmers in Ghana.

– Encouraging the youth to engage in pig farming

-Proper and cost-effective ways of feeding pigs

-Virtual resource centre for pig farming in Ghana

Election of Constitution Drafting Committee

An interim committee was formed to draft a constitution for the Association. Members of the Committee were selected as follows:

-Mr. Stephen Danchie

-Mr. Ekow Mensah Akyeampong

-Mr. Linus Victory Fianyo

The Committee’s mandate was to put together a draft constitution to be reviewed by members for approval at the next meeting.

Election of Interim Executives

The interim Executives were elected as follows:

President – Mr. Mensah Akyeampong

Secretary – Mr. Frank Danchie

Treasurer – Mrs. Marian Afriye-Opoku

Organizer – Mrs. Valerie Danchie

Welfare – Ms. Afua Ankomah

Their mandates will be determined by the constitution.

Election of Interim Executives

Members shared ideas on how to make the industry more conducive so as to attract more prospective farmers. They also discussed some of the challenges plaguing the industry.

Isolated markets – it was discussed that after investing so much into raising the pigs, farmers need not struggle to sell their stock. Members deliberated on effective ways of marketing. It was agreed that the formation of the association will aid this cause.

The idea of processing was also favourably considered. The importance of information backed by real data was discussed and it was agreed that this should be one of the tasks to be taken up seriously.

The Association’s website should eventually become an information resource centre for pig farming in Ghana. It was also advised that since the

organization had a nation-side reach, it needed to set up regional presence. This suggestion was accepted by members who indicated that with time, measures will be taken to ensure that this sis set up.

As the association gains grounds, there should also be the need to set standards for pig producing in Ghana.

The issue of water supply sources for farms was also discussed. With salty areas, it was advised that members contact Ghana Water Company for a chemical used to process water.

It was also suggested that a cost effective way to build the pig sty is to buy abandoned poultry farms and renovate rather than build from scratch. Finally, members were advised to be selfless as we join hands to build the association.

Date of Next Meeting   It was agreed that the next meeting will be on Friday, 6th December, 2013 (Farmers’ Day). It will be held at the same venue which will currently be the Association’s office until another venue is secured.

In the absence of any further deliberations, Mr. Fianyo motioned for the closure of the meeting and Mrs. Danchie seconded the motion.

Mr. Kartey Carbutey gave the closing prayer.

The meeting ended at 1:35PM

Signed:   Mr. Ekow Mensah-Akyeampong                       Date:……………………

Interim President Signed:

Pig farmers first general meeting in Accra

Office of Ghana National Association of Pig Farmers

We are four days to our first general meeting. I was told to advertize it on the Fm stations, but cash is difficult to come by in Mahama’s Ghana of late. Anyway, in case you miss your way, just call olumo on 0244092052 or visit the contact section on our association website, http://www.gnapf.org to get the exact location on Google Map..

I am so excited today because Ghana trounced Egypt 6 goals to 1. Three of my sows also gave birth to 28 piglets, in total I have 41 piglets. I lost 6 over the past two weeks. A place to put them when they are weaned is still a challenge but I believe God would make a way. Total count of animals on the farm as of today is 86.

So if you are a pig farmer or a prospective pig farmer, lets meet to brainstorm on how we can protect  and maximize the profit from our investment. To all prospective pig farmers, come and gather some filla from experienced  pig farmers so that you don’t repeat the mistakes some of us made.

Hope to see you all on Saturday.