Starting January 1, 2027, Libreville will ban the import of frozen chicken. Gabon aims to produce 125,000 tons of broiler meat annually by 2028, a target set by the Ministry of Agriculture. However, several challenges remain before that deadline.

On June 2, 2026, Agriculture Minister Pacôme Kossi presented a 700 billion CFA franc program to parliament aimed at achieving poultry meat self-sufficiency by January 1, 2027. By that date, Gabon will end its annual imports of 65,000 tons of frozen chicken. Annual chicken consumption in Gabon stands at roughly 65,000 tons. Economist Louis Ndong summed up the goal: “Achieving food sovereignty to lighten the household basket.”

An ecosystem to build

Hervais Omva, president of the Zambia-based NGO IDRC AFRICA and a poultry sector expert, says the project’s success depends on building the entire production chain. “The president set the direction. Now it’s up to industry players to build the upstream and downstream ecosystem,” he explains. He considers local production of maize and soybeans essential, as these two crops account for nearly 75% of poultry feed. “One of the main challenges will be producing millions of tons of these grains locally,” he stresses. Job creation is another major issue. “Some automated slaughterhouses can process up to 60,000 chickens per day with only about twenty employees. If the goal is also to reduce youth unemployment, we need to favor a model adapted to local realities,” he adds.

Gabon bets on African investors

Gabon is counting on African investors to drive this transformation. After Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema’s call 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 Agriculture Ministry official stated that “the various mechanisms will be deployed gradually.” In Port-Gentil, G.M., a breeder with ten years of experience running a 10,000-chicken farm, sees this policy as a major opportunity. “The potential is real, but moving to industrial production requires substantial investment,” he confides.

A sector to structure

The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine highlighted the vulnerability of importing countries to international markets. Gabon now wants to strengthen domestic production to reduce this dependency. Over half of Gabon’s population is under 26, and youth unemployment is estimated at 30-38%. Developing the poultry sector is therefore an agricultural, economic, and social issue. Hervais Omva has a message for young Africans: “The president has paved the way. The investors are ready.”