Seasonal shortages of guinea fowl eggs for hatching are limiting year-round production in the Northern Region, with local poultry enterprises calling for improved breeds to keep commercial hatcheries operating throughout the year.
Mr Prince Addai, Managing Director of Tower of God Enterprise, an incubator fabrication and commercial hatchery company, said the seasonal nature of egg production was one of the major constraints facing the guinea fowl industry.
He said most local guinea fowls produced eggs for only about six months in a year, creating a gap in the supply of hatching eggs and disrupting the continuous production of guinea fowl keets.
Mr Addai made the observation when the Ghana News Agency visited his company at Kalpohin, a suburb of Tamale.
He said the introduction of improved guinea fowl breeds capable of laying eggs throughout the year could help address the production gap and provide commercial hatcheries with a more reliable supply of eggs.
According to him, some improved breeds from countries including France and Belgium had the capacity to produce eggs throughout the year, unlike most local breeds.
He therefore called on the government to support efforts to make improved breeds available to local farmers and hatchery operators.
“Access to improved breeds would enable commercial hatcheries to operate throughout the year and provide farmers with a more consistent supply of guinea fowl keets,” he said.
Mr Addai said a reliable supply of keets would help farmers plan production more effectively and contribute to the revival and expansion of guinea fowl farming in the Northern Region.
He, however, identified diseases as another major challenge affecting the sector, saying outbreaks were contributing to declining production and reducing the profitability of farmers.
He mentioned fowl pox and “white diarrhoea” among diseases affecting guinea fowl production and called for stronger measures to prevent and control their spread.
Beyond the availability of breeding stock, Mr Addai said hatchery technology was also critical to expanding the industry.
He said Tower of God Enterprise manufactured incubators ranging from manual units with a capacity of 200 eggs to commercial models capable of holding up to 21,000 eggs.
The company, he said, specialised in locally fabricated commercial incubators designed with good thermal properties and electrical insulation to improve operational efficiency and safety.
Mr Addai said the incubators used an air-draft system and did not require a chilling system, adding that the equipment could achieve hatching rates of close to 90 per cent.
He said financial support would enable the company to increase production of commercial incubators, particularly units with capacities of 10,000 eggs and above, to support hatchery operations across the region.
Mr Addai urged the government, development partners and other stakeholders to support enterprises developing agricultural technologies suited to local conditions.
Such support, he said, would strengthen the guinea fowl and wider poultry value chain by improving access to breeding stock, hatchery equipment and reliable production systems.
