A group of farmers come out with designer eggs at Vaduvanchal in Wayanad

Though eggs have been considered as the complete food with most of the nutrients necessary for the body, concerns over its cholesterol content have kept many at bay.

Now, a group of farmers under the NABARD-supported Kisan Jyothi Farmers Club (KJFC) at Vaduvanchal in Wayanad have come out with designer eggs, which they claim will settle the apprehension once and for all. They say their ‘Omega’ brand eggs solve the riddle and set to rest doubts of the cholesterol-conscious.

“Designer eggs are those in which the content has been modified from the standard egg. The technology of designer egg involves manipulating nutrients in poultry feed and fortification of egg with micro-nutrients and vitamins,” Anil Zachariah, deputy project director of ATMA, Wayanad, the certifying agency, said.

Made using scientific method

Dr. Zachariah said the eggs were produced through a scientific method adopted for nurturing the layer with right feed so that they laid high quality eggs.

“The composition of the feed leads to the desired composition of the eggs adding to its nutritive profile through enrichment in the diet, and not by use of drugs or hormones,” Sreeshitha, district technology manager, ATMA said.

“Eggs laid by hens fed on a diet of greens and insects contain higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids than those produced by hens fed on corn,” Dr. Sreeshitha added.

“When the project was launched under the Farm Sector Promotion Fund programme of NABARD two months ago, we distributed ten BV380 strain chicks each to 66 families in the area,” N.S. Saji Kumar, assistant general manager, NABARD, said. Training and technical support were given by ATMA to the farmers, he added.

250 eggs a month for a family

“Now each family is getting an average of 250 eggs a month and we have entered into a memorandum of understanding with the WAYFARM farmer producer company to procure the designer eggs from the farmers at a price of Rs.6.50,” P. Hariharan, chief coordinator of the club, said. The company would market the produce through its retail shops, he added.

P. Balachandran, general manager, NABARD, handed over the first lot of eggs to P.A Sabu, managing director of WAYFARM, at Mananthavady on Wednesday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Kerala / E.M. Manoj  / Kalpeto – June 23rd, 2016