Traditional use of fly larvae by small poultry farmers in Benin

Abstract

House fly larvae (Musca domestica) are a suitable and sustainable source of protein for poultry in Africa, but their traditional use in family farming has never been demonstrated and quantified. A large survey among traditional poultry farmers in Benin shows that on the average, 5.7% of them produce house fly larvae to feed their poultry. In one politico-administrative sub-unit (department) 25.7% of farmer feed their poultry with larvae. The farmers using house fly larvae as protein source tend to have a higher income from poultry farming; have higher level of education and a larger flock than those that do not use larvae. They also give termites to their poultry more often than other farmers. Farmers keeping their poultry in confinement also use fly larvae more often than those whose flocks are scavenging. Fly larvae are produced by exposing various wastes as substrates to attract naturally occurring flies. A total of 28 substrates used to produce larvae were cited by farmers. The most cited substrates were soy and maize bran, pig and chicken manure as well as animal cadavers. This information will be used to optimise the dissemination of the use of fly larvae in poultry feed to smallholder farmers in Benin. The fact that poultry farmers already produce fly larvae on farm also provides opportunities to integrate indigenous knowledge in the development of new technologies.

Production de masse de larves de <i>Musca domestica</i> L. (Diptera : Muscidae) pour l’aviculture au Burkina Faso : Analyse des facteurs déterminants en oviposition naturelle

“…La présente étude montre que, si la production de mouches par oviposition naturelle est un système de production de protéine durable et économique (Koné et al, 2017 ;Roffeis et al, 2018), différents facteurs peuvent impacter significativement cette production. Ce travail apporte des informations utiles afin d'optimiser davantage la production des larves de mouches en milieu rural en Afrique de l'Ouest, où l'utilisation de larves de mouches est déjà pratiquée par un nombre significatif de petits producteurs (Pomalégni et al, 2016(Pomalégni et al, , 2017Sanou et al 2018). Si les conditions optimales doivent être recherchées individuellement pour chaque système, nous avons montré l'importance de facteurs tels que la proportion d'eau à intégrer à un substrat, la quantité et l'épaisseur de substrat à intégrer dans les récipients, la surface de ponte et la saison.…”

“…La production et l'utilisation des larves de mouches comme aliment dans l'aviculture à petite échelle au Burkina Faso et en Afrique de l'Ouest pourraient réduire les coûts de production de la volaille et par conséquent permettre une intensification durable et une amélioration de la filière avicole . Les larves de mouche domestique (Musca domestica L.) sont d'ailleurs déjà utilisées de façon occasionnelle comme aliment par un nombre non négligeable de petits producteurs de volaille (Pomalégni et al, 2017 ;Sanou et al, 2018). Des travaux de plusieurs auteurs ont montré que de nombreux facteurs abiotiques et biotiques peuvent influencer la production de masse des asticots de mouche domestique (Kenis et al, 2014 ;van Zanten et al, 2015 ;Koné et al, 2017 ;Sanou et al, 2018).…”

Black soldier fly larvae as a sustainable animal feed ingredient in Kenya

“…They may rear fly larvae as feed component either to be included in feeds that they formulate themselves or to sell to feed millers (knowledge4food.net/research-project/gcp2-insect-products-feed-africa). This will provide farmers with opportunities to actively engage in the emerging insect agribusiness value chain (Pomalégni et al, 2017). Becoming less dependent on international feed producers and simultaneously gaining income from producing fly larvae as feed component contributes to improving livelihood and food security of smallholder farmers (Pomalégni et al, 2017).…”

Life cycle cost assessment of insect based feed production in West Africa

“…Although the use of insects as feed has a long tradition in Africa among smallholder farmers (Kenis et al,484 2014; Pomalégni et al, 2017), the technology of commercial production of fly larvae is still in its infancy. 485…”

“…fishmeal). Production systems for H. 487 illucens and M. domestica of all sizes and forms are being developed worldwide, providing opportunities 488 for increased efficiency and cost reduction (Koné et al, 2017;Pomalégni et al, 2017). Given the rapid 489 advancements in the last few years, it is likely that future IBF production systems will produce at 490 substantially lower costs through higher efficiency, scaling-up, and use of cheaper or free substrates and 491 mechanisation.…”