Egg project to fight poverty in Uganda
Aimed at increasing the consumption of eggs, the Poultry Association of Uganda is calling on the government to introduce eggs into the school feeding programme.
It is reported that this has the potential to create a huge internal market for local eggs, increase farmers’ earnings and fight poverty in rural areas.
The proposal is to start with at least three eggs per week for every child. Each egg will cost sh150, adding up to sh5,400 for a full term.
Based on 7.3 mln children under the Universal Primary Education programme, assuming there are 250 school days in a year, 61,284,608 trays of eggs would be required. To meet this demand, 8,457,300 layers would be needed from local hatcheries. “This will raise the market for layer chicks,” says Dr Flavio Oliviera of the Poultry Association. There are currently approx. 3 mln hybrid chickens, including layers and broilers.
The project will also be an advantage to farmers who produce raw materials used for chicken feed. Feed mills will have to produce 21,143 tonnes of chick and duck mash, 54,972 tonnes of growers feed and 14,407 tonnes of layer mash per year.
According to the minister of state for trade, Gagawala Wambuzi, the plan is an appealing one. “This is something that we have got to consider as government. It is in line with the Government’s fight against poverty,” he says.
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