The Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association is proposing an egg processing factory as a solution to the challenge of a glut on the market.

According to the association, this move will significantly reduce the losses of farmers who are currently having challenges selling their eggs.

Michael Nyarko-Ampem, the President of the Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association, said, processing of the eggs is key to addressing this challenge.

“There is this technology where you separate the egg white and the egg yolk, and you can freeze them and when you do that, the shelf life improves so if an egg would stay for about a month in the shell if you separate the egg white and egg yolk, you can preserve it for about 9 months to a year.”

He added that “We can also do what we call the egg powder, so you break the egg and process it and use the dryer and under certain temperatures and certain conditions you process it, mill it and bag it, and when you do that, it can last up to two years.”

Mr Nyarko Ampem is very convinced about the potential of this idea, but what will it take to implement it?

He explained that ”It just takes a bit of a decision and a bit of determination and for Ghana, I think we are better placed in this case because the government is implementing 1D1F, so the Minister of Trade can decide to look at this situation and say that, ok, we are investing in an industry that is solely going to deal with the problem in the egg industry and that industry will now process the eggs”.

A shortage of maize during the festive season last year significantly impacted the business of poultry farmers across the country who rely heavily on the product.

Maize is a key component in feed production and its scarcity meant an increase in the cost of production for these farmers.

Almost immediately this resulted in a hike in the price of local poultry products.

The farmers justified the increase as their only option to stay afloat.
With the increase in the prices of the products came a significant decline in the demand for, especially eggs.

Many farmers were compelled to dispose of their unsold eggs as they went bad due to their short shelf life.