Dr. Jacob Alhassan Hamidu, a Hatchery and Eggs Scientist of the Department, said there was the need to make available more funds to drive research - come up with innovative ideas and appropriate technologies to achieve optimal operation of the sector.

He indicated that given the necessary support, the department could assist the farmers to substantially raise production to meet the demands of the nation.   

He was speaking at a community durbar at Appeadu-Kokoben in Kumasi, to sensitize the people on the health benefits of the department’s recently-developed “designer eggs”, fortified with ‘Omega-3 fatty acids’.

This formed part of an outreach programme to introduce and encourage consumption of the egg, especially by people in the rural communities.

Dr. Hamidu said a study by the department had established that children who consumed food products containing ‘Omega-3 fatty acids’ on regular basis were likely to be more intelligent and perform better in school than those, who were not given such nutrition.

“In view of this, we are doing everything to improve the diet of the rural population with the nutritious eggs at a very low cost.”

Dr. Hamidu said they were engaging some members of the Poultry Farmers Association, introducing them to the formula for producing the ‘designer eggs’.

He announced that the department had been receiving requests from farmers in neighboring West African countries, including Nigeria, to assist them produce the fortified eggs for the people.

Mrs. Kate Appiah-Boateng, a Senior Nursing Officer of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), highlighted the health benefits of eggs, saying on the average, a medium-sized egg contained about 6.4 per cent grams of protein, vital to one’s health.