Andhra Pradesh should take up in right earnest measures to give a further boost to egg production and consumption in the State, B. Rama Rao, a member of the executive council of the National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC), has said.

He was addressing the media here on Friday as a part of the ongoing campaign undertaken by NECC to promote egg consumption. He said eggs were much cheaper compared to other foods, containing many nutrients, and therefore they should be promoted not only for food security but nutrition security.

Andhra Pradesh, which used to be the number one producer of eggs in the country per day, has slipped to the second position after bifurcation. At present, Tamil Nadu is in in the top slot, with production of 5 crore eggs per day followed by Andhra Pradesh (4.5 crores) and Telangana (3.5 crores). However, there is immense scope in the State for further boosting the production and regaining the top slot, he said.

He said that "while the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recommended consumption of 180 eggs per capita, it is actually only 65 or so in the country. It needs to be boosted a great deal."

He suggested to the AP Government that "one way of increasing consumption is to supply more boiled eggs in the mid-day meal programme in the schools of the State. At present, 3 boiled eggs are being supplied a week to each student and it should at least be doubled."

He said the late B.V Rao was a Telugu man who heralded the poultry revolution in the country and both Telugu states should strive to give a boost to the sector in his memory, as the sector generates a lot of employment.

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