On 2 June 2026, Minister of Agriculture Pacôme Kossi presented before deputies a 700-billion-franc CFA programme designed to help the country achieve self-sufficiency in poultry meat by 1 January 2027. By that date, Gabon will halt annual imports of 65,000 tonnes of frozen chicken. According to the FAO, Gabon consumes about 65,000 tonnes of chicken per year. Economist Louis Ndong states the goal clearly: “Achieve food sovereignty to lighten the household 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 depends on setting up 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 soy is an essential condition. These two crops account for nearly 75% of poultry feed. “One of the main challenges will be to produce millions of tonnes of these grains locally,” he stresses. Job creation is also a major issue. “Some automated slaughterhouses can process up to 60,000 chickens a day with only about twenty employees. If the goal is also to reduce youth unemployment, a model adapted to local realities should be favoured,” he adds.

Gabon bets on African investors

Libreville intends to mobilise investors from the continent to support this transformation. After the call made by Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema at 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 at the Ministry of Agriculture asserts that “the various mechanisms will be rolled out 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 significant 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 national 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 thus represents an agricultural, economic and social challenge. Hervais Omva sends a message to young Africans: “The president has paved the way. Investors are ready.”