Aglow Farms aims at a market change

“We decided to enter the broiler processing market, because there is a big market out there, which until now has been completely dominated by lowpriced imported products,” says Kofi Brobbey Kyei. “Although Ghanaian consumers much prefer the look and taste of home-grown chicken meat, the market is flooded with cheap foreign products.”

Local products

“It won’t be easy to compete with the low prices of imports; we will, however, find a way of changing the market by letting the consumer know the difference. Our poultry meat is locally produced, very fresh and totally different from imported products, which will have been frozen and stored for a long time abroad. By showing these differences, we hope to move the consumers towards our products. If we can achieve the volumes, with time we can compete. If we succeed in winning just 10% of this market, we will have to run our plant throughout the whole year.”

Ideal partner

Kofi Brobbey Kyei explains why Marel was the ideal partner. “Both my daughter and I were investigating our options for choosing an equipment partner and the name Marel kept coming up. The two of us came to the same conclusion at the same time; that Marel could offer what we were looking for. We are very satisfied with the way the company reacts to our requests; they always keep their promises. Whenever we want something special, Marel responds very positively. We feel comfortable with this relationship.”

Heart of the process

In the brand new Aglow Farms greenfield plant, a Marel heavy-duty overhead conveyor, spanning over 80 meters [262 ft] of length, is the heart of the process. Hanging in the shackles, broilers pass through the Marel Water Bath Stunner, which delivers an effective, reliable electrical stun. After killing and bleeding out, products are conveyed to the Marel Scalder. This immersion scalder has low energy and water consumption, a big benefit in African conditions. Products are then thoroughly defeathered in the Marel Plucker, after which the Marel Head Puller does automatically what is a hard manual job.

Manual evisceration

Still hanging from the overhead conveyor system, products automatically enter the evisceration department. This ensures an ergonomic operating environment for workers, who do all cutting and drawing operations by hand, using a manual vent gun, opening scissors and evisceration forks. Hearts, livers, gizzards and necks are also harvested manually, after which a lung suction gun is used to remove the lungs. Each product is cleaned by a Marel Inside/Outside Washer before it passes the Leg Cutter which cuts off the feet, dropping the whole products into the screw chiller.

Cut-up

Aglow Farms cuts up its products manually, producing thighs, wings, breasts and legs. “We have gone into cut-up because in our market, not too many people can afford a whole chicken. It’s too expensive and too much for them. Chicken cuts are therefore becoming increasingly important here; we want to offer our clients the complete range,” continues Kofi Brobbey Kyei. “We are aiming to cut 80-90% of our production. In Ghana there’s a big market for thighs and wings and we want to open up the niche market for breasts. We’re targeting those intermediate distributors who until now have been importing products. We are trying to convince them to buy and sell products grown at home. They have all shown great interest in doing so and we are eager to see the results.”

About Aglow Farms

Based in Accra, capital of Ghana, Aglow farms is a rising star in the country’s poultry industry. Owner Kofi Brobbey Kyei started his first enterprise in 1989 in the seed business. Later, the company expanded into the egg business. At this moment Aglow Farms is well on the way to becoming a fully integrated poultry business with a feed mill, farms and a processing plant. Aglow’s own farms produce about 60% of what is processed in the plant. Remaining broilers come from contract farmers who also adhere
the Aglow philosophy.