High cost of feed threatens poultry industry
HIGH cost of feed, coupled with other challenges, is threatening the survival of the country’s poultry industry, the President of Women in Poultry, Dr Victoria Norgbey, has said.
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She said although the sector was faced with numerous challenges, the most important one was the cost of feed which has caused a lot of poultry farms to be producing 50 per cent below capacity.
In an interview with the Graphic Business at a ceremony to mark the World Egg Day, she said the capital needed to produce 10,000 birds in the past could not even produce 5000 birds now, a situation which has affected their capacities greatly.
“Most farmers are now producing below capacity and that is the reason why eggs are sometimes scarce on the market so it is our hope that things will improve soon,” she stated.
She said despite the challenges, the industry players were willing to push harder, stating that “it’s a business we have entered into and there is no going back so we will sail through the challenges.”
“We are calling on all stakeholders and the government to support us and put in place various strategies and policies to revive the sector,” she stated.
She noted that government had already announced some initiatives which were yet to be implemented, adding that the industry was looking forward to the implementation of some of them.
She said key among the initiatives that the industry was looking forward to was the implementation of the biosecurity certification.
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She said when this was done, it would curb the rate of diseases that they encountered on their farms.
“Once our birds are healthy, then you are sure you can get more eggs,” she stated.
She also used the opportunity to wish all the poultry farmers well, assuring all stakeholders that things would improve soon.
Egg day
Also speaking in an interview, the National Coordinator of the Ghana National Egg Campaign Secretariat, Comfort Acheampong, said the second Friday in October was used to celebrate the World Egg day and this year, the secretariat decided to celebrate it with the public by sharing over 3000 boiled eggs to the public.
“We are here to celebrate egg which is a super food. All stakeholders in the egg value chain came together to celebrate this day.”
“We came to Circle which is a central point for travellers across the country to celebrate the day with the public and we have distributed over 3000 boiled eggs to mark the day,” she stated.
Benefits of eggs
Sharing some health benefits of eggs, the Municipal Nutritionist at Korle Klottey, Zanno Billey, said eggs helped in brain development and also helped with muscle development and bone strength.
‘It also helps with heart health and helps people who are on a weight loss journey,” she stated.
She therefore urged the public to consume more eggs, noting that the country was not consuming enough eggs.