Insects are viewed as the next sustainable sources of cheap, quality proteins for feeds to rear farmed animals. This is as fish and soy based proteins are becoming increasingly unsustainable, due to rising competitions among the uses to which these resources are put. Unfortunately, growing insects has not yet been fully adopted as business enterprises as production processes are still crude and yet to be standardized.
In your experience, which insects would you suggest as the fasted growiing to yield the highest quality protein that is cheap and sustainable, and why?
Would you say that people will readily consume farm animals grown with such insects?
Exactly @ Moritz, thanks for your exciting thoughts. I am thinking that so long as illegal fishing continues without concerted legislation to curtail overfishing, growing insects to be chap enough to replace fishmeal will continue to be a challenge.
We are looking at various local technologies that we could upscale for mass production of insect proteins, in an effort to make it a business venture that can attract investment, thus making it a sustainable enterprises.
Unfortunately, the fly species you suggest is also one that people arent too excited to consume, because of stigma issues. I think a lot of work needs to be done to get it more acceptable into the human food chain.
My group is looking at grasshopper species because of the multiple advantages its production could enable. Your thoughts are welcome.
Thanks again
Hi Aliyu,
the best and fast growing insects to use is the black soldier flies. their larva grow very fast and are good source of protein especially for poultry, fish and pigs. They thrive very well under almost any conditions and mature larva separate themselves from the active once to be collected for use. they are very clean and break down waste within the shortest possible time and highly prolific. I have used them in an experiment to break down pig waste. u can read more about them
Mohammed,
I agree with Kwamania. When I was with the University of Georgia in the early 1980's, John Shutze (deceased) was looking at production of soldier fly larvae as a dried feed ingredient. I believe there was some limited research done in this area during that period.
Essentially, the concept was to allow the soldier flies to breed in the caged layer manure, and have a ramp for the larvae to travel up and into a container. This arrangement works because the larvae naturally travel some distance during their maturation process.
Richard
Thank you all for the valuable contributions. No doubt, a lot of publications show that the black fly is the fastest growing, and on waste matter of several kinds.
I am actually looking for any paper that details the production process, especially with the details of factors necessary to maintain optimal production.
I will appreciate full texts of such papers if anyone has them to share.
Thank you
I do not know which journals would have that information. Check Auburn or University of Georgia special reports or the journals from the late 1970's or early 1980's.
As I understand it, the procedure is not that difficult. Make a shallow pit with ramps to a higher elevation (6 = 8?). Put manure (we were going to use caged table egg layer manure in the area under the cages) in a shallow pit, add flies, Collect the larva when it crawls up the ramp, perhaps off the edge into a container.
It should be a fairly straight-forward process.
Dear Mohammed, Am not an expert on Insects but i was recently in touch with a group who intended to promote the consumption of insects as a protein source to people and animals. They are a charity working on a on a project code named " The Flying Food Project" the technology coordinated by TNT Netherland and they grow grasshoppers and crickets in crates. They are working in Masaka District, Uganda .
May be useful for you look them up. Good Luck.
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