Farmers undergoing training on use of Black Soldier Fly to get organic fertilizers and feeds/ NOGAMU Photo
By Prisca Wanyenya
Farmers exhibiting an initial fear or disgust towards handling live insect larvae, also known as maggots, is a common psychological reaction for humans, but when this fear is weighed against the cost savings garnered from use of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) as animal feeds and fertilizer, scientists are left grappling with questions on how uptake of this technology can be boosted.
The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and the National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU) recently conducted training for farmers in Jinja on the production and utilization of Black Soldier Fly as a climate-smart and sustainable protein source for feeds and bio-fertiliser.
Joshua Okonya, Program Officer for Technology and Innovation at ASARECA, said that Black Soldier Fly technology has a strong potential as organic fertilisers and animal feed, by converting organic waste into useful inputs, to improve farm productivity and profitability.
However, adoption among organic farmers remains low due to limited field demonstrations, practical knowledge, and awareness of the benefits BSF comes with.
“The idea of BSF is that it can bring down the cost of production because nearly 50% to 70% of the cost that goes to production is mainly feed and that is the source of protein that you will usually have. The silver fish (mukene) that we normally use as a source of fat and protein for the animal feed is high, we compete with people who also eat it. So, this comes as an opportunity for farmers to embrace not only that it is good for the environment, it is good for public health and hygiene, but it is also good that it gives them more money,” said Okanya.
Samuel Nyanzi, the Board Chairperson, NOGAMU emphasized the need for BSF fertilisers.
“I think there is a greater need for sensitisation, and I think we should start from the fertiliser side. People still have this mentality that the maggots are from the toilets, but if we started from the fertilizer, then people will see. The BSF can really produce a lot of fertilizer, but it is also a very sustainable way of waste management,” noted Nyanzi.
According to NOGAMU, there are many people who don’t understand that there is the BSF and he extended gratitude to ASARECA for the training and appealed for more such trainings.
“But my advice would be, it is very good for feeding, but let us first concentrate on the fertilization. Pain is more on the fertilization. Then, after that, then you go to the feeding,” he said.
Local Leaders Want Farmers to Embrace BSF Over Sugarcane Production
Geoffrey Nkurunziza, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Jinja District commended ASARECA for training farmers in Jinja in new technologies like BSF to boost their incomes, noting that it comes at the time when leaders agreed on dropping sugarcane production in Busoga sub-region due to the poverty acceleration it has brought to the people.
“Busoga Kingdom started a Think Tank for Busoga, but in Busoga’s Development Plan, the sugarcane enterprise was removed, and the reason is that, sugarcane growing is the reason why our people in Busoga are poor. The Busoga Think Tank conducted a study and discovered that sugarcane growing isn’t profitable and it is the reason why Busoga region that was rich in the days of our forefathers declined and is now poor,” Nkurunziza said.
He urged farmers to practice BSF use, citing the training session that indicated that a kilogram of eggs for Black Soldier Flies go for UGX1Million.
“I am told some of my farmers hired out their land for 15years, you can imagine. This training is supposed to enlighten us, what is it that we can do outside sugarcane and we improve our livelihood. The input required for this enterprise of Black Soldier Fly are the very things people don’t want to see in their compounds, these are the raw materials we need for our enterprise, that is a very big opportunity which we can tap,” Nkurunziza said.
Farmers Receive Practical Training on BSF Feeds & fertiliser Production
The farmers were challenged during a visit at Bioconvision (Uganda) Limited, where the Managing Director, Konstantin von Hoerner, a Swiss national established the Black Soldier Fly feeds and fertiliser business in 2023, alongside his Ugandan wife, while undertaking their research project realized the lack of locally produced feed and fertiliser, and thus started the company to close the gap and before long, they moved to a commercial scale with over 1tonne of fertilizer produced daily and mostly sold to commercial farmers.
Responding to prospects of exporting their products out of Uganda, Hoerner admitted that there is a huge market for organic fertilisers that hasn’t yet been satisfied, yet when it comes to BSF feeds, the company is limited by perishable nature of the fresh larvae that would require cooler trucks just to transport to Kampala.
“The market is so big in Uganda, there are so many farmers and there aren’t so much locally produced alternatives on the market, so I don’t think we should be exporting. And the second thing is that, we are producing fresh larvae, we can’t even reach Kampala, we need to save money for the cooling truck so that we have a wider reach,” he said.
On what prospective BSF farmers can do, Hoerner urged the farmers to let the products of their farms do the marketing, as venturing into commercial production without establishing sustainable market for waste would threaten the sustainability of their businesses.
“Many people say BSF is good, waste is free. Waste might be free but sorting waste and transporting waste isn’t free. So, you need to be honest to yourself, how much does it cost me, until the waste is on your farm, sorted, shrewd and ready to be fed? It took us almost two years for us to have a stable set up. You can’t believe over 50 people are picking waste for us, it isn’t as simple as you think,” said Hoerner.
He added, “If you want to start small, start using it on your own farm or even speak to your neighbours where you are sure that someone will take your maggots, or someone will take your fertilizers because at the beginning, you will not have a stable NPK profile, a stable protein profile. So, the best thing is, use your own product so that people see how well your chicken, or how well your farm is growing then it speaks for itself.”
Earlier this year, the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) awarded Bioconvision Uganda Limited with the Sustainability award, for combining both the BSF and the water hyacinth to manufacture organic fertilisers.
According to Hoerner, the innovation was in response to the problem of water hyacinth at the hydro-power dams in Jinja, prompting the team to put this bio-waste plant inside a treatment area and convert it to fertiliser, although the initial research wasn’t positive as the insects didn’t like the water hyacinth.
“We learnt that the hyacinth wasn’t the problem but the nutrition was too little for the insects, so we added more nutrition and from this, we learnt what the true balance is to treat both the waste and hyacinth. That was the initial idea and NEMA found it a convincing project and we were awarded the sustainability award,” he noted.
The visit to the BSF Manufacturing facility took an interesting turn when farmers got to know that the protein rich larvae can be consumed by humans, and when the revelation landed in their ears, a sample was prepared through a micro-wave and within 10minutes, the bold farmers and foodies like Diana Nankwanga, patron of Blossom Integrated Development in Jinja district, tasted the delicacy, saying it tasted like grasshoppers.
Nankwanga noted, “I tasted the larvae that comes out from the black soldier fly, and it is tasty, and very nice to eat. It is so yummy, actually, that thing tastes like crunchy crisps, if you have not put salt, but again, when you put salt, the taste even becomes more like you are eating those tasty crisps. It is my first time, but I have liked it.”
Responding to a question on what motivated her to taste the larvae yet some of her fellow farmers feared to take a taste, she said: “I have a delight in practicing this type of farming, and I can’t do this type of farming and convince others to do it, to walk the talk, when I don’t walk the talk. So, I have to make sure everything is practical.”
Farmers Urged to Embrace Technology to Market Products
With the training bringing together several farmer groups, ASARECA urged farmers to embrace the use of social media platforms to market their products so as to boost demand for their products.
“Nowadays, we search people through the computer not the colour of T-shits they are wearing, that is why I am encouraging you to have a social media page so that people who aren’t near your locality can find you. Let us have social media accounts. We should use social media platforms to sell our products, even if you have a good product, as long as the world hasn’t heard about it, no one will buy from you. Agriculture is struggling in Uganda and Africa not because there isn’t demand, but because we don’t do a lot of marketing. And this is not just you as individuals, but even as a country, we aren’t investing in marketing,” Dr. Okanya said.
The team was informed of an app that ASARECA supported in Rwanda where farmers with agriculture merchandise ready for transportation, can log into an app and see the trucks taking the same route.
Dr. Okonya noted, “You don’t have to hire your own truck to transport your farm produce to the market alone, there are always cars using different routes. At the end of the day, you will find that one car has helped transport produce for different people.”
The training closed with the establishment of a BSF production demonstration facility in Namulesa Town Council in Jinja district, to be used for equipping organic farmer groups with practical skills, sample fertilisers and knowledge required to adopt BSF-based fertilisers and feeds, and improve the sustainability and profitability of organic crop enterprises.
We need this training to our farmers.