• In Kenya and Uganda, 95 and 96 per cent of livestock farmers, respectively, are willing to use insect-based feed.
• Three new standards on codes of practice, insect products and products containing insects have been developed and approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
Image: ICIPE
Image: ICIPE
Farmers are venturing into insect farming to cut the cost of buying animal feed.
This is thanks to the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), which has started a project on insect farming.
Through the Insect Feed for Poultry and Fish in Kenya and Uganda project, farmers are trained in black soldier fly (BSF) rearing and utilisation of insect protein as an alternative animal protein source.
The project is being implemented by ICIPE and is supported by Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Australian Centre for international Agriculture Research (ACIAR).
Doreen Ariwi, a poultry farmer and the co-founder of Bug’s Life Protein Ltd, has ventured into black soldier fly rearing to cut costs on poultry feed.
She has 6,000 birds. Last year, she put up a greenhouse to produce black soldier flies in large-scale.
“Besides being able to produce enough BSF to feed my birds, I sell the surplus to a company in Athi River that produces pet food at Sh96 per kilo,” Ariwi said.
“The birds prefer to feed on insects, unlike the commercial feeds. I feed the insects on birds above two months, and this helps in improving their growth rate and increase the egg production.”
She spoke to journalists on Wednesday during a visit to her 20-acre farm in Mtalani, Machakos county.
Ariwi said she has been able to reduce the usage of commercial feed and hence a drop in the cost of buying feeds.
“I have reduced the use of commercial feed by 150 bags per month. Before I started supplementing my poultry feeds with insects, I would use 450 bags for 6,000 birds per month. Today, I use 300 bags to feed the same number of birds,” she said.
Nicholas Mareve, 24, from Wangige in Kiambu county, also rears the black soldier fly.
He sells the insects as pig feed and as organic fertiliser to farmers in the area.
He said he was trained by ICIPE. He uses waste from nearby markets and slaughterhouses to produce eggs for BSF farming. The process takes about 10 days to achieve the final product.
“One man’s waste is my gold. I source waste to help in the production of the black solder fly eggs from Wangige market and in Ndumboini pig slaughterhouse in Kikuyu, Kiambu county,” he said.
Mareve sells his products under the name Zihanga Limited. The name means ‘zero hunger’, which indicates that his products promote food security.
He makes about 300 to 600 kilos of dried BSF insects per week. He sells a kilo of dried insects for between Sh110 and Sh140. Mareve also sells organic compost to tomato, onion and strawberry farmers in the area.
Dr Chrysantus Tanga, a research scientist with the Insects for Food, Feed and other Uses Programme at ICIPE, said as populations expand worldwide, the demand for food and protein, in particular, represents a significant challenge to the global food system.
Traditional meat production requires the use of expensive animal feed, which account for 70-80 per cent of production costs and can ‘out price’ small-holder farmers.
“To enable more farmers to take up livestock production and meet increasing nutritional demands, an affordable and environmentally sustainable alternative protein source for feed is required. Rich in protein, fat, minerals and amino acids, insects represent a viable solution,” he said.
Tanga said they have conducted farm studies which showed that when the chickens are fed on insects, there is less feed intake because the energy and nutrient levels are much higher.
“So a farmer spends less money on commercial feed. In Kenya and Uganda, 95 and 96 per cent of livestock farmers, respectively, are willing to use insect-based feed in their animal husbandry,” Tanga said.
He said that 85 and 92 per cent of feed producers in Kenya and Uganda showed willingness to integrate insects into their feed products.
Tanga said the study also showed that substituting fish meal protein with insect meals improved the weight gain and protein content of fish and livestock.
He said three new standards on codes of practice, insect products and products containing insects have been developed and approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
Tanga said the first phase of the project assisted more than 200 small enterprises and 3,000 farmers in Kenya to tap into the opportunities of black soldier fly farming.
The second phase was scaled up to reach over 6,500 additional farmers.
“In addition to the 6,500 farmers reached, a separate group of more than 1,300 farmers have undergone a five-day, hands-on incubation course on all aspects of BSF farming,” he said.
Of those trained, Tanga said, 356 farmers are producing BSF at four sites in Kenya, and over 103 new insect-based enterprises have been successfully established. They produce up to 0.3-3 tonnes of fresh BSF larvae per week.
“In Bungoma, Kiambu, Nyandarua and Siaya counties, four youth groups of each 60 members have been engaged in an intensive training course on all aspects of BSF farming and marketing,” he said.
Tanga said the youths are leading demonstration farms and learning sites in each county established by the project, as well as producing and selling insect larvae.
“They get additional income by providing training to women groups and other youths in the community.”
He said insect meal-based animal feed is unquestionably a growing market in Kenya and Uganda, with high acceptance among farmers and feed producers, as it reduces production costs at a time when farmers are facing income uncertainty due to the pandemic.
“The project will in future continue research and development around other value-added products. This includes insect oils as an additive to the animal feed as well as in cosmetic soaps, and the production of BSF chitin for improved soil health and crop protection against pests,” he said.
Edited by A.N
Image: ICIPE
Image: ICIPE
Nicholas Mareve, 24, from Wangige in Kiambu county, also rears the black soldier fly. He sells the insects as pig feed and as organic fertiliser to farmers in the area.
He said he was trained by ICIPE. He uses waste from nearby markets and slaughterhouses to produce eggs for BSF farming. The process takes about 10 days to achieve the final product.
“One man’s waste is my gold. I source waste to help in the production of the black solder fly eggs from Wangige market and in Ndumboini pig slaughterhouse in Kikuyu, Kiambu county,” he said.
Mareve sells his products under the name Zihanga Limited. The name means 'zero hunger', which indicates that his products promote food security.
He makes about 300 to 600 kilos of dried BSF insects per week. He sells a kilo of dried insects for between Sh110 and Sh140.
Mareve also sells organic compost to tomato, onion and strawberry farmers in the area.
Dr Chrysantus Tanga, a research scientist with the Insects for Food, Feed and other Uses Programme at ICIPE, said as populations expand worldwide, the demand for food and protein, in particular, represents a significant challenge to the global food system.
Traditional meat production requires the use of expensive animal feeds, which account for 70-80 per cent of production costs and can ‘out price’ small-holder farmers.
“To enable more farmers to take up livestock production and meet increasing nutritional demands, an affordable and environmentally sustainable alternative protein source for feed is required. Rich in protein, fat, minerals and amino acids, insects represent a viable solution,” he said.
Tanga said they have conducted farm studies which showed that when the chickens are fed on insects, there is less feed intake because the energy and nutrient levels are much higher.
“So a farmer spends less money on commercial feed. In Kenya and Uganda, 95 and 96 per cent of livestock farmers, respectively, are willing to use insect-based feeds in their animal husbandry," Tanga said.
He said that 85 and 92 per cent of feed producers in Kenya and Uganda showed willingness to integrate insects into their feed products.
Tanga said the study also showed that substituting fish meal protein with insect meals improved the weight gain and protein content of fish and livestock.
He said three new standards on codes of practice, insect products and products containing insects have been developed and approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
Tanga said the first phase of the project assisted more than 200 small enterprises and 3,000 farmers in Kenya to tap into the opportunities of black soldier fly farming. The second phase was scaled up to reach over 6,500 additional farmers.
“In addition to the 6,500 farmers reached, a separate group of more than 1,300 farmers have undergone a five-day, hands-on incubation course on all aspects of BSF farming," he said.
Of those trained, Tanga said, 356 farmers are producing BSF at four sites in Kenya, and over 103 new insect-based enterprises have been successfully established. They produce up to 0.3-3 tonnes of fresh BSF larvae per week.
“In Bungoma, Kiambu, Nyandarua and Siaya counties, four youth groups of each 60 members have been engaged in an intensive training course on all aspects of BSF farming and marketing," he said.
Tanga said the youths are leading demonstration farms and learning sites in each county established by the project, as well as producing and selling insect larvae.
"They get additional income by providing training to women groups and other youths in the community.”
He said insect meal-based animal feed is unquestionably a growing market in Kenya and Uganda, with high acceptance among farmers and feed producers, as it reduces production costs at a time when farmers are facing income uncertainty due to the pandemic.
“The project will in future continue research and development around other value-added products. This includes insect oils as an additive to the animal feed as well as in cosmetic soaps, and the production of BSF chitin for improved soil health and crop protection against pests,” he said.
Edited by A.N