No abstract

The sustainable utilisation of black soldier fly (BSF) for recycling organic waste into high-quality protein feed and organic fertiliser with a low environmental footprint is gaining momentum worldwide. Although BSF farming is becoming a rapidly growing agribusiness, studies on the BSF farming’s economic aspects are limited. This study analysed the economic benefits of farming BSF for animal feeds and composted frass, called frass fertiliser (FF) production using experimental data. The BSF larvae were fed on brewery spent grain amended with sawdust, biochar, and gypsum to determine the cost-effective feed and other by-products production. The agronomic performance of FF on the maize crop was assessed using field experiments. Our results demonstrated that sourcing and preparing the waste substrate for rearing the BSF larvae accounts for 81-90% of the total BSF production cost. The utilisation of FF as an additional value-added product would increase farmer’s net income by 5-15 folds compared to BSF farming alone. Feedstock amended with 20% biochar increased net income by 10-64% for BSF larvae and FF production than other feedstocks. Production of one megagram (Mg) of dried BSF larvae (USD 900) would generate 10-34 Mg of FF worth USD 3,000-10,200. Maize grown on plots treated with FF yielded 29-44% higher net income than maize harvested from plots amended with commercial organic fertiliser. Furthermore, smallholder insect farmers’ direct use of FF for maize production would generate 30-232% higher net income than farmers purchasing similar FF. Our results demonstrate for the first time the role of insect farming in circular economy and justify the opportunities for future investments that would lead to enhanced sustainability for agricultural and food systems, especially for smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries.

Increased demand for animal protein has motivated the search for more efficient livestock production systems. In recent years, there has been growing interest to incorporate insect meal as an alternative source of protein to fish/soybean meal in chicken feed for improved nutrition, sustainability, and animal welfare benefits. Black soldier fly larval ( BSFL )-based feeds has been shown to increase egg production in a cost-effective manner. However, poultry consumers perception towards the consumption of eggs from layers fed diet integrated with BSFL-based meal have received limited research attention. This study evaluates consumers’ perception towards eggs from hens fed BSFL-based diets and socioeconomic factors influencing the conceived perceptions. The study adopted an exploratory factor analysis ( EFA ) and binary logit regression models to establish perceptions of 200 consumers in Kiambu County, Kenya. Our results revealed that 65% of the consumers were aware of the benefits of integrating insect protein in poultry feed. Over 70% of respondents showed preference and willingness to consume egg products from hens fed diets with BSFL-based feeds. The EFA identified perceived benefits, ethics and traceability as the key aspects that influence consumer intention to consume eggs. Binary logit model revealed that consumer characteristics such as household size, gender, awareness of insects as feed, off-farm income, household income, nature of buying place, and access to credit were important factors driving consumers perceptions. Our findings provide insight into the market perception and potential of eggs from laying hens fed BSFL-based feeds. Our findings demonstrated that increased awareness creation and evidence-based demonstration on the benefits of BSFL-based feed in poultry production would improve consumer perception and foster uptake of this rapidly growing and emerging technology. This work contributes to the limited knowledge on BSFL-based feeds and paves way for further linkages between farmers, public private partners, policy makers, and consumers.

No abstract

Tsetse-transmitted Animal African Trypanosomosis (AAT) is one of the most important constraints to livestock development in Africa. Use of trypanocides has been the most widespread approach for the management of AAT, despite the associated drug resistance and health concerns associated with drug metabolites in animal products. Alternative control measures that target tsetse fly vectors of AAT, though effective, have been hard to sustain in part because these are public goods applied area-wide. The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and partners have developed and implemented a novel tsetse repellent collar (TRC) applied on animals to limit contact of tsetse flies and livestock, thereby reducing AAT transmission. The TRC has now advanced to commercialization. A household-level survey involving 632 cattle keeping households, was conducted in Shimba Hills region of Kwale County, where field trials of the TRC have been previously conducted to assess farmers’ knowledge, perception, and practices towards the management of tsetse flies, their willingness to pay (WTP) for the TRC, and factors affecting the WTP. Almost all the respondents (90%) reported that tsetse flies were the leading cattle infesting pests in the area. About 22% of these correctly identified at least four AAT clinical signs, and even though many (68%) used trypanocidal drugs to manage the disease, 50% did not perceive the drug as being effective in AAT management (50%). Few respondents (8%) were aware of the harmful effects of trypanocidal drugs. About 89% of the respondents were aware of icipe TRC, and 30% of them were using the field trial collars during the survey. Sixty-three (63%) of them were willing to pay for the TRC at the same cost they spend treating an animal for AAT. On average farmers were willing to pay KES 3,352 per animal per year. Male educated household heads are likely to pay more for the TRC. Moreover, perceived high AAT prevalence and severity further increases the WTP. Wider dissemination and commercialization of the herd-level tsetse control approach (TRC) should be encouraged to impede AAT transmission and thus enhance food security and farm incomes among the affected rural communities. Besides the uptake of TRC can be enhanced through training, especially among women farmers.