Smart Agriprenuers Are Reaping Big With Black Soldier Flies
For years, the cost of commercial feeds has made poultry farming erratic and less profitable. But farmers in Nyamira are shifting to more sustainable sources of protein for their chicken, slashing feed costs substantially, and ensuring their chunkier poultry fetches better prices.
They are converting organic waste, picked from food markets, into fast-growing, protein-rich larvae of black soldier flies, which are happily eaten by the chicken. The larvae contain 35 to 45 percent of protein, which is crucial in the growth of the birds.
We paid a visit to an insect-breeding farm in Kemera, Nyamira where farmers rearing 3,000 broilers for sale were learning the production of black soldier flies, with the help of experts from Powerhive, a company connecting electricity to rural areas and a runs a poultry processing plant in Kisii.
A structure that measures about 20 by 40 metres is full of stacks of black crates. Adjacent to the crates is four cages covered with transparent polythene papers. In these cages, wasp-like insects can be seen. They are the black soldier flies.
Annah Mong’ina, 53, was using the structure for poultry rearing but the high cost of feeds edged her out of business. She opted to lease it to the farmers. The production of black soldier flies is simple, that any farmer can do it with basic training, says Abigael Kitheka from Powerhive.
The eggs are placed in tent-like structures together with organic waste where they incubate for three days and then hatch. These organic wastes may include potato peels, kitchen waste, over-ripe avocados, tomatoes, or mangoes.
The farmers collect the waste from nearby food markets. After the eggs hatch, they form larvae, which begin to feed on the waste. Seven days later, the larvae have grown enough and are ready for harvesting. All the larvae except 20 percent are harvested into feed. The remaining black soldier flies perpetuate the colony.
Within 10 days, the larvae pass to the pupae stage before becoming flies. The flies live for about five days on a diet of water only, and during that time they lay the eggs that begin the process again. They are only alive six weeks but during that time, they reproduce generously, laying 500-plus eggs in a single batch.
During harvesting, the larvae is washed and fed on chicken either alive or dried. Ms Kitheka says she prefers drying it because it reduces the chances of infections in the flock. Drying the flies involves putting them first in hot water before heating.
Ms Kitheka refers to them as brown live gold. The waste from the flies is used to make composite manure that another expert Jared Nyangaresi says can be used in farms for increased crop productivity.
He notes that apart from feeding the larvae on broiler chicken, they can also be a good meal for pigs and fish.
Insect protein is a good way to go. Before they started feeding the chicken the larvae, the farmers would spend Sh.672,480 to rear 3,000 broilers to maturity. Now the cost of production has reduced by Sh.201,704.
Taking waste and turning it into a high-value product while avoiding the use of chemicals, Mr Nyangaresi says, contributes to global sustainability and climate-smart agriculture.
“The larvae as feed supplements can improve the income of smallholder farmers,” he says. Some of the gains the farmers say they have seen is faster weight gain in the chicken, translating to an increase in earnings by 20 percent. For broiler chicken to be ready for market, they take up to six weeks when fed on commercial feeds. However, when they are fed on larvae, they reach maturity within four weeks and attain more weight compared to those fed on commercial feeds only.
Chicken fed on the larvae weigh around five kilos on maturity compared to those reared on commercial feeds that weigh 3.5 kilos on average, the experts said.
Off the busy Eldoret-Kitale Road in Uasin Gishu, one finds Senior Estate, a fast-growing middle-income residential area.
The estate is dotted with bungalows and maisonettes as well as apartments.
It is here that Evelyn Nekesa runs Fair and Sustainable Insect Farm, from where she rears black soldier flies.
We find Nekesa supervising her two workers, who are loading wet organic waste onto a machine inside a store that stands next to a greenhouse.
The quarter-acre farm hosts three greenhouses measuring 15 by 3 metres, where production of the flies at various stages takes place. She has named them larvarian, love-cage and hatchery.
“Larvarian is where we feed the insects, in love cage mating happens and at the hatchery, they lay the eggs,” says the 30 years old farmer.
She started the project in April last year to cash in on the shortage of animal feeds.
“I went for free training at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Icipe) in Nairobi and, thereafter, was given a free black soldier flies kit to start my project.”
During the training, Nekesa says she learnt about crickets but chose black soldier flies because she needed to use their waste as fertilizer for her organic farm.
She feeds the insects fresh market produce that she sources from Eldoret town.
“I get 2.4 tonnes that cost me Sh.2,000 daily. This includes transportation and collection costs. I use a hot air dryer to grind and break them into smaller portions so that the flies can consume with ease to grow uniformly. We allow them to ferment for three days before feeding the insects,” says Nekesa, an accountant.
The love section consists of 70 cages where male and female flies mate and lay eggs in a wooden structure. A single fly hatches 300 to 1,000 eggs in seven days. After that they die. The eggs hatch into larvae in about four days.
“I dry in the sun and sell the larvae at Sh.100 per kilo to small-scale livestock farmers in Eldoret. We produce up to 130 kilos of larvae on a good day and 50 kilos on a bad day.”
On the other hand, she dries the waste that comes from the production process and mills to make organic fertilizer.
“Sometimes we, however, mix the waste with the black soldier flies themselves, grind and sell to farmers. We make up 150 kilos of organic fertilizer in a day, selling a 90kg bag at Sh.2,500,” explains Nekesa.
The fertilizer is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. According to agriculture experts, it enhances soil fertility and contains an element called chitin to boost plant immunity.
Nekesa notes that to run such a business, one does not need to start big.
“Some Sh.10,000 is enough. What one needs is black soldier flies and organic waste,” says the agriprenuer.
According to her, the business is good because the insects are rarely attacked by diseases or pests save for mites but they don’t kill them.
Dr Nicholas Syano, a lecturer at Machakos University, observes that use of insects to produce rich protein for livestock and organic fertilizer is a part of climate-smart farming.
“Feeds contribute up to 86 per cent of the costs on the farm. And this is because of expensive protein sources. Using black soldier flies or earthworms helps to lower costs at the farm level,” notes the expert.
Written By
Justine Nyachieo
Business Man & Mentor
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