Scientist advocates for ‘One Child, One Egg’ a day
A hatchery and Egg Scientist at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr Jacob Alhassan Hamidu, has called on the government to infuse what he terms “Raising Chicken for Food” into the School Feeding Programme (SFP).
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That, to him, would promote the ‘One Child, One Egg’ policy whose adoption is being advocated by a group of researchers.
To him, in the KNUST Designer Eggs Outreach, his group of researchers realised that the Omega 3 in designer eggs was good for a child’s brain, hence should government adopt the ‘One Child, One Egg’ a day proposal, it would help in the mental development of schoolchildren.
In an interview at the KNUST Designer Eggs Outreach at Kokoben in Kumasi, Dr Hamidu said upon developing a proposal on the designer egg project, a non-governmental organisation based in Canada provided financial support of CAN $12,000 for a project on Omega 3 that ran from 2014 to 2016.
He noted that his group observed that the Omega 3 in the designer eggs was in addition to a number of nutrients in eggs more nutritious than the ordinary eggs on the Ghanaian market.
Adoption of proposal to revamp poultry industry
Dr Hamidu was of the view that should government buy into the proposal of the research group, it would help create more jobs for poultry farmers.
“If government gives a nod to our proposal, we can train more poultry farmers on the designer eggs for their hens to lay more Omega 3 eggs and this will create jobs to revamp the poultry industry,” he stated.
Again, he was of the view that apart from creating jobs in the poultry industry, it would enhance the income levels of poultry farmers to bring worth into the industry.
He said by raising more hens for the designer eggs, the government, through the ministries of Education and Health, could also extract seed oil from the designer eggs upon training.
“We have been eating the ordinary eggs for long. Omega 3 is rich for mental health, especially of the child. There must be a paradigm shift in the promotion of nutritious egg consumption,” he added.
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Egg a day for a child
A Nursing Officer at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Mrs Kate Appiah Boateng, said eggs were rich in complete protein.
She said after 25 years of thorough research, it was found that the cholesterol in eggs was good and needed by the body.
She added that another research by the America Health Dietary Association had been advocating an egg a day for a child, saying apart from the fact that eggs were delicious when boiled or fried, they were called “A Super Food” which must be embraced by all.
