On June 2, 2026, Pacôme Kossi, Minister of Agriculture, presented to parliament a 700 billion CFA franc program aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in poultry meat by January 1, 2027. By that date, Gabon will halt annual imports of 65,000 tons of frozen chicken. According to the FAO, Gabon consumes about 65,000 tons of chicken per year. Economist Louis Ndong is clear about the goal: “Achieve food sovereignty to lighten the household shopping basket.”

AN ECOSYSTEM TO BUILD

Hervais Omva, president of the Zambia-based NGO IDRC Africa and an expert in poultry value chains, believes the project’s success will depend on establishing the entire production chain. “The president set the course. Now it’s up to sector actors to build the upstream and downstream ecosystem,” he says. In his view, local production of maize and soybeans is a critical condition. These two crops account for nearly 75% of poultry feed. “One of the main challenges will be to locally produce millions of tons of these grains,” he stresses. Job creation is also a major issue. “Some automated slaughterhouses can process up to 60,000 chickens per day with just about twenty employees. If the goal is also to reduce youth unemployment, we must favor a model adapted to local realities,” he adds.

GABON BETTING ON AFRICAN INVESTORS

Libreville aims to attract investors from across the continent to support this transformation. After an appeal by Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema at the Kigali summit in mid-May 2026, several African operators were received at the Presidential Palace on June 9. The government says the technical framework is in place and an investment bank is already operational. A senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture states that “the various mechanisms will be deployed gradually.” In Port-Gentil, G.M., a poultry farmer for about ten years with a flock of 10,000 chickens, sees this policy as a major opportunity. “The potential is real, but shifting to industrial production requires substantial investment,” he confides.

A SECTOR TO STRUCTURE

The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine reminded importing countries of their dependence on international markets. Gabon now wants to strengthen its domestic production to reduce this vulnerability. According to data from the Directorate General of Statistics, 54.6% of Gabon’s population is under 26. Youth unemployment is estimated between 30% and 38%, according to the UNDP. Developing the poultry sector thus represents an agricultural, economic, and social challenge. Hervais Omva also sends a message to young Africans: “The president has paved the way. Investors are ready.”