Breeding Black Soldier Fly Larvae to Manage Organic Waste

10 August 2023, 1:28 am

By: Emmy Daniel Ojara

Richard Olanya, a resident of Kanyagoga in Bardege-Layibi division, Gulu City,  has taken it upon himself to manage organic waste and prevent environmental pollution in Gulu City by breeding black soldier fly larvae (BSFL). Black Solider Fly Larvae (BSFL) are converters of organic waste into edible biomass including protein, lipids, peptides, amino acids, chitin, vitamin, and polypides.    

Olanya, who holds a Diploma in Mechanization in Agriculture from Busitema University, has established a maggot production farm in the backyard of his half-acre piece of land. 

Gulu City produces approximately 65 tons of organic waste monthly from the leftover food from hotels, restaurants, and homes as well decaying unsold raw food from markets, trading centers, and the remains of brewery waste commonly known as ‘’ting’’ from ‘’lacoi and ajoni’’.    

According to available statistics, 75% of the waste is organic while the rest is plastic waste. This leaves the city, with a stench, flooded drainages, and health hazards resulting from poor disposal.

In 2015, Olanya ventured into the poultry in the backyard of his home but met many challenges in finding chicken feeds and the high cost in the market. 

Olanya notes that he also observed with keenness the stench within the then-Gulu town especially whenever it would rain and the organic waste that flooded the area, which made life unconducive. 

He explained that this informed his decision to start the production of black soldier fly larvae to save the environment from pollution and provide locally made nutritious feeds for farmers at an affordable price. 

Olanya said during an interview that he decided to search on Google and YouTube to learn about the breeding of black soldier fly larvae and the production of organic feeds for fish, poultry, and pigs as well as fertilizers.    

Black soldier fly larvae are considered highly nutritious feeds for poultry owing to the protein level it contains compared to soya beans and silverfish. In addition, they are also less expensive with a kilogram in Gulu city going for between Shillings 700 to 800.   

The breeding of black soldier fly larvae involves the attracting of flies using organic food waste, Once attracted, the flies lay eggs, which take about two weeks to hatch, After another week the larvae are ready and dried for feeding poultry.  

Olanya disclosed that through Green Growth Plus Investment, he has employed a team of five casual staff whom he trained to assist him with the breeding processes. 

According to Olanya, Green Growth Plus Investment uses at least 800 kilograms of organic waste monthly for the production of fertilizers, feeds, and breeding of the black soldier fly larvae. 

Green Plus Growth Investment produces and sells both dry and fresh black fly soldier larvae depending on the available demand.

A kilogram of fresh black fly soldier larvae goes for Shillings 2,000 while dried ones cost Shillings 5,000 per kilogram. Meanwhile a kilogram of fertilizer costs between Shillings 8,00 and 1,000 depending on the quantity purchased.  The team is able to raise at least Shillings 900,000 monthly.

Besides the production of black fly soldier larvae, Olanya said that he is also training farmers on the initiative and enabling an environment for job creation among the youth.  

He noted that the breeding of black soldier fly larvae is a viable business and opportunity because people are in high need of organic fertilizer and there is a constant supply of raw materials for it.    

However, Olanya says that they are still faced with the challenge of transport during mass production noting that they are charged highly for carrying organic waste, which is considered rubbish.   

Olanya says he intends to acquire at least acres of land and start mass production of black soldier fly larvae and its products, start value addition, create more employment, and establish a demonstration farm of pigs, poultry, and fish rearing to inspire farmers to use their products. 

He hopes to start producing at least 10,000 tons of black soldier fly larvae in the next two years using 40,000 tons of organic waste monthly.    

Patrick Oola Lumumba, the Mayor of Bardege-Layibi division where Green Growth Plus Investment is situated said that they have now separated skips for organic and inorganic waste, which are loaded from different garbage collection points in Lacor, Alot, and Awere Markets.   

He explained that they have turned to the production of black soldier fly larvae to manage organic waste in the area, and create an avenue for farmers to cheaply purchase nutritious feeds for their pigs, poultry, and fish.