Nthuku Mumo: Black soldier fly farmer produces alternative protein source for animal feeds

Waste management has been a major challenge in Kenya as the country struggles to have in place an effective waste management system.

However, what many Kenyans forget, or have chosen not to practice, is the fact that uncollected waste causes severe health problems and is equally hazardous to the environment.

The demand to come up with sustainable methods of waste management system remains a daunting challenge but for Nthuku Mumo, 29, the dragon can be slayed while the waste can also become an important element in farming. 

The black soldier fly farmer in Utawala has devised a way through which he transforms organic waste into useful feed for the flies he rears. Mumo says the idea to convert the waste into feed has always intrigued him since 2021.

“I’ve always had an interest in organic waste management and as opposed to bio-gas production or composting; these flies provided multiple products from the same waste source,” he explained.

You will not find unwanted waste in Mumo’s kitchen. Instead, his greenhouse houses stacks of trays full of yellowish decayed or decomposed food waste that is used to feed on the Black soldier flies at the larva stage.

“Black soldier flies feed on organic waste; from kitchen waste to market waste. All these can be used for black soldier flies larva,” he explains.

When practicing Black Soldier Fly farming, one should be aware of the stages starting from egg, larva, pupa and finally a mature fly. These insects' life cycle can last for approximately 45 days: egg (4) days, larva (18) days, pupa (14) days and finally the adult stage (9) days.

The longest phase of these flies is during the larva and pupa stages, whereas egg and adult stages are relatively short. The females can lay between 500 and 900 eggs.

The process starts with the sieving of the pupa in order to separate it from the food residues and later transfer the pupa to the love cage where they will emerge as flies. Thereafter that they will be able to lay eggs which will be incubated. "Once incubated the larva will be hatched fed and the cycle continues.”

Scientifically referred to as Hermetia Illucens these flies do not have mouth parts, stingers, or digestive organs thus they do not sting and do not feed during their short lifespan. They only feed during their larval stage.

These flies have beneficial uses as an alternative source of protein in the larva stage and are used in production of organic fertilizers. The persistence to find an alternative livestock feed ingredient for fish meal and soy meal has led to market recognition of Black Soldier Fly protein.

The flies act as an alternative source of protein that is cheaper for poultry, pig, and fish feed as they contain up to 50 percent of crude protein and 35 percent of lipids. Frass obtained from Black Soldier flies can be used as fertilizer as it contains nitrogen-fixing bacteria hence giving plants a boost when it comes to nitrogen uptake.

“Black Soldier flies have a number of benefits, they can be used as an alternative source of protein in their larvae stage and they can also be used in the production of organic fertilizer.”

If you are a layer farmer you will appreciate the benefits of having hard egg shells when it comes to transportation. “One other benefit is that you can use the exoskeleton of the dead flies as a source of calcium supplement, when we fed that to our chicken we noticed that the shells were significantly harder”, he said.

As the flies can be beneficial, it also comes in with a lot of challenges. “Mites can decimate an entire colony within a very short period of time if not properly addressed, so that’s personally the greatest challenge I’ve gone through.”

“At the moment we are in talks with the Youth Enterprise Development Fund to develop and outgrow a model whereby youth can be trained in Black Soldier fly farming and also get an earning from the same,” says Mumo.

Mumo has urged Kenyans to embrace the new approach citing Israel as a success story for  black soldier fly farming.