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

A SYSTEM 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 sector players must build the upstream and downstream ecosystem,” he explains. In his view, local production of maize and soya is a critical prerequisite. These two crops account for nearly 75% of poultry feed. “One of the main challenges will be producing millions of tonnes of these cereals locally,” he stresses. Job creation is also a major concern. “Some automated slaughterhouses can process up to 60,000 chickens per day with just about 20 employees. If the goal is also to reduce youth unemployment, we need to favour a model adapted to local realities,” he adds.

GABON BETTING ON AFRICAN INVESTORS

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

A SECTOR TO STRUCTURE

The Covid-19 pandemic and then 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. The youth unemployment rate is estimated between 30% and 38%, according to the UNDP. Developing the poultry sector therefore represents an agricultural, economic and social challenge. Hervais Omva also has a message for young Africans: “The president has paved the way. Investors are ready.”