The government is considering measures to process surplus eggs into powdered and other value-added forms as part of efforts to address recurring gluts in the poultry industry and reduce losses incurred by farmers.
The initiative is expected to form part of the proposed National Poultry Master Plan, which aims to stabilise market prices, extend product shelf life, reduce post-harvest losses and create new opportunities within the poultry value chain.
Addressing the media after a stakeholder engagement on the proposed plan, the Chief Technical Advisor to the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Kwesi Etu-Bonde, said the government is placing emphasis on value addition and improved storage systems to better manage excess egg production.
“Eggs can be processed into powder, and that is part of the value addition we want the poultry master plan to address,” he said.
Stakeholders in the poultry sector have long raised concerns about periodic egg surpluses, which often force farmers to sell at very low prices, resulting in significant financial losses.
Mr Etu-Bonde noted that government interventions to support maize and soya production had helped reduce the cost of poultry feed, encouraging more people to go into poultry farming.
“The egg glut has come to our attention. Last year, the ministry supported the production of grains such as maize and soya, and that has brought feed prices down. As a result, more people have been incentivised to go into poultry production,” he stated.
He further disclosed that the government is relying on the School Feeding Programme to help absorb part of the excess eggs on the market.
“The President has instructed that the School Feeding Programme should purchase eggs from the market as part of the effort to support poultry farmers,” he noted.
According to Mr Etu-Bonde, the proposed poultry master plan will introduce long-term interventions to strengthen the poultry value chain, expand processing capacity and reduce the impact of recurring production surpluses in the country.
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