Eliana Nyaguthii Macharia feeding fish using BSF larvae in Kilifi County.
Black soldier fly (BSF) is a rich source of proteins for domestic animals, especially fish and poultry.
With the ever-increasing cost of feed in Kenya becoming a burden on farmers, BSF larvae can be a relief.
That is why one farmer in Mtwapa, Kilifi County, has taken to producing BSF maggots, which she uses to supplement her fish feed and sells the remaining to farmers in the Coast and other parts of the country.
Eliana Nyaguthi Macharia also adds value to dried BSF maggots by grinding them into powder.
Macharia says the powder is good for fingerlings because the small and immature fish cannot be given large feeds.
She also trains other farmers on producing and rearing the insects for their use and commercial purposes. A farmer interested in the training parts with Sh500.
An employee empties a container full of black soldier fly larvae before they are weighed at the Sanergy organics recycling facility near Nairobi. PHOTO | REUTERS
“The benefits of value-added ground BSF larvae are many. Apart from the powder, a farmer can make oil from the maggots,” says Macharia, who started producing and growing BSF in 2020 as the world battled the coronavirus pandemic.
To get into the rare agribusiness, Macharia bought larvae from another farmer who showed her how to breed them.
She then reared the BSF larvae to maturity. It did not take long before their numbers began to multiply.
“We use the BSF powder as a starter feed on many occasions. Fingerlings mainly feed on powdered BSF maggots,” she says.
Small machine
The farmer adds that fingerlings given ground BSF maggot powder grow fast as they do not have to spend their energy chewing, grinding and crushing their feed.
The start-up rears the Black Soldier Fly larvae too, which feeds on waste. The dried larvae is packaged for sale as livestock feed.
According to Macharia, a kilogramme of BSF powder goes for Sh1,000, but some customers get it for less after bargaining.
Macharia sells a kilo of dried BSF larvae for Sh400 to Sh600.
“Most customers who come for BSF are poultry farmers. They want BSF that are not dried,” Macharia tells Seeds of Gold.
“Those who breed and rear fish want the dried ones. I have a small machine for making the powder. The plan is to buy a bigger machine as the number of customers increases.”
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According to Macharia, a box of BSF gives her five to six kilogrammes of maggots a day.
The farmer has 30 boxes that she uses to collect the BSF larvae. Macharia says the live larvae can be fed to fish or poultry.
The farmer’s long-time mission is to ensure she and others reduce production costs by a high percentage through adopting BSF as feed.
How does she rear the flies to maturity? Macharia gives the larvae and flies a variety of foods for fast maturity, including azolla, fruits, wheat bran and maize bran.
The BSF enterprise is not without challenges, Macharia tells Seeds of Gold.
She says the flies do not reproduce in large numbers during cold seasons, resulting in less income.
“Most of my clients are from the Coast and want to be trained on breeding and rearing BSF,” Macharia says, adding that training ordinarily takes two hours.
“There are people who want training that lasts a day. They pay Sh1,000. They are also given training on fish farming,” she adds.
Apart from breeding and rearing BSF, Macharia has tilapia and catfish on her farm.
