Many African countries continue to import a significant portion of the poultry they consume, often in the form of frozen chicken sold at low prices. This practice is often seen as a sign of limited local production capacity, but the issue is more about economic competitiveness. As long as imported poultry remains cheaper than locally produced chicken, importing remains the most rational economic choice, and local production struggles to develop. The goal is to reverse this equation by making local production competitive. Without a sustainable production cost, investment in local poultry farming remains limited. The stakes are high, with frozen chicken imports in sub-Saharan Africa reaching over 2 million tonnes annually, valued at nearly 3 billion euros each year. The investment required to replace these imports with integrated local poultry production systems is a fraction of that sum, creating tens of thousands of rural jobs in both chicken production and the supply of inputs like maize and soy. It also significantly reduces rural exodus. Africa's poultry industry is not hindered by an inability to raise chickens, but by fragmented and undersized production systems. With modern industrial installations, comparable genetics, and production discipline, Africa can achieve the same levels of cost, yield, and quality as major poultry-producing countries. Existing technologies such as controlled environment buildings, ventilation, feeding, sanitation protocols, hatcheries, and slaughter chains are already available. The key is to think in terms of an integrated system — breeders, hatcheries, feed mills, farms, slaughterhouses, cold chains, and distribution — to control inputs, biosecurity, traceability, and carcass utilization. A recent feasibility study in a Central African country, detailed in an industrial and financial analysis from March 2026, demonstrated that locally produced chickens could be sold at less than 1,000 FCFA per kilogram after slaughter. This result relies on critical mass, mastery of feed, high-performing genetics, modern facilities, strict biosecurity, and daily management through indicators. With a consumption index of 1.60, even a small change in efficiency can result in thousands of tonnes of feed saved at scale. A competitively priced African chicken must never be of inferior quality. Food safety, consistency, traceability, veterinary control, nutritional quality, and cold chain logistics must meet the same standards as in more advanced markets. The local product must win consumer choice through price, quality, and availability — with slaughterhouses, laboratories, traceability, and cold distribution at the heart of the industrial project. With a well-designed, adequately funded, and executed integrated poultry production project, visible results can be achieved in less than 18 months (chicks, feed, first slaughterings, distribution). Three years are sufficient to transform the industry significantly if execution remains continuous. The role of the state is crucial: a clear legal framework, rapid procedures, land, energy, strict sanitary rules, and appropriate financing. Temporary protections support growth, but competitiveness remains the primary protection for local production. The success of an integrated poultry industry extends beyond the chicken market. It lays the groundwork for a broader agro-industrial sector (feed mills, silos, laboratories, storage, veterinary services, transport, cold chain) and creates a regular demand for maize and soy — an industrial market that makes agriculture financeable and justifies investments in seeds, mechanization, drying, collection, and storage. These infrastructures can later be extended to other productions, including the dairy sector. Poultry becomes a catalyst industry: the first success reduces the cost and risk of subsequent ventures. True poultry sovereignty will be achieved when local production becomes the most rational choice for investors, distributors, and consumers. It will not only be a victory over imports but also the starting point for a much broader agricultural sovereignty.