Ghanaian children especially those in rural areas would soon enjoy eggs fortified with omega 3 fatty acids also known as designer eggs to help improve their intelligence quotient, nutrition and their opportunities in society. This came to light when Dr. Jacob Alhassan Hamidu, a lecturer in the Department of Animal Science, KNUST, the brain behind this initiative spoke to the University Relations Office in an exclusive interview.
Dr. Hamidu revealed that in the summer of 2013, there was a call in the Grand Challenge Canada on healthy living called Stars in Global Health. He decided to come out with an idea to improve the intellectual ability of rural children in Ghana.
Outside Africa, people consume omega 3 eggs and products and he sought to find ways to make it more affordable and accessible to Ghanaian and African children at large. With the acceptance of his research proposal, the Grand Challenge Canada awarded him a one-hundred-and-twelve-thousand Canadian dollar grant in March.
He explained that flax oil and flax seed contained high levels of omega 3 which is essential for brain development and helped reduce cardiovascular diseases in adults. With this in mind, he decided to focus on children. He argued that if we could dispense omega 3 through eggs compared to the practice of giving pills as nutrition intervention we could increase its acceptability among rural people. The designer eggs would then be more acceptable, increase accessibility and consumption since Ghanaian children love eggs.
Dr. Hamidu explained that in August, 2014 the project started at the farm of the Department of Animal Science. Victor Oppong Adjei, the Chairman of the Ashanti Region Poultry Farmers Association and owner of V.O.L. Farms, supported the project by helping to build a new structure at KNUST to house the birds. A storage room, a feed mixer and a milling room were also constructed out of project funds. There is a water problem at the farm and so a mechanized borehole and a water storage tank have been constructed. The water system would be automated soon to reduce water contamination and the work load of staff. Feed mixers, feeders and automatic drinkers already purchased would soon be installed. The whole area would be fenced for biosecurity. A state-of-the-art poultry research structure at KNUST is envisaged.
Dr. Hamidu revealed that chicken reproduced what they consumed and therefore if flax oil was mixed with their feed they would lay omega 3 eggs. The birds would be fed on the feed mixed with flax oil after 24 or 25 weeks. Three different concentrations of flax oil in the feed that is 2.5%, 5.0% and 7.5% would be experimented with to determine the right amount needed for an omega 3 egg. He revealed that flax oil was very expensive and as such they were also investigating other local seeds as potential sources of omega 3 and as alternatives to the flax oil and seed. Neri and melon seeds locally known as werewere and egushi respectively which were widely consumed by Ghanaians had already been tested for the potential but were found to be high in Omega 6.
At the end of 72 weeks, the fatty acid profiles in the eggs would be investigated. However, Ghana did not have the standard settings and columns needed for investigating the omega 3 eggs. Miss Charlesa Brown and three other graduate students had been given scholarships to assist on the project. Miss Brown would travel with the egg samples abroad to test in standard laboratories. Dr. Oscar S. Olympio and Dr. Kwaku Adomako are both assisting with project coordination and student supervision. The project has hired caretaker staff who have been provided with load carriable tricycles to increase work efficiency.
In March, an interim report would be submitted to the Grand Challenge Canada. The project is expected to officially end in September this year. However, it opens another opportunity to “the Bold Ideas with Bold Impact” of Grand Challenge Canada, which could attract up to a million-dollar grant to be able to feed rural children in Ghana.
Dr. Hamidu hinted that there was no information on egg consumption patterns in Ghana and West Africa. Undergraduate students had been tasked to undertake research in that area. Findings would be analysed to help in future research and at the next stage of the challenge.
When proven that the eggs under study contained omega 3 the project would be patented by the researcher and for that matter the University. Dr. Jacob Alhasssan Hamidu would also collaborate with all stakeholders to run educational programmes for poultry farmers and make plans for the commercialization of the project.
Dr. Hamidu was very thankful to the Grand Challenge Canada and Mr. Oppong Adjei for their assistance.
