SUSTAINABLE HOUSEHOLD EGG-PRODUCTION TO ENHANCE HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY

A simple method of keeping laying hens has been developed with the aim of improving family nutrition through the provision of high quality e gg protein at low cost. A unit is kept at a family's home and provides on average six eggs per day for daily household consumption after a n umber of eggs have been sold to cover the daily cost of feeding the he ns. Hens are purchased at point of lay and are kept for 52 weeks durin g which time they would lay approximately 260 eggs under natural light . They are then sold for human consumption and the money used to purch ase new point of lay pullets. The scheme is sustainable requiring no a dditional capital outlay, has a positive effect on household food secu rity and could probably be successfully replicated in other African co untries.