Chicken and fish feed and organic fertilizer value chain development using Black Soldier fly-based urban biowaste processing in Ghana, Mali and Niger The project’s overall objective is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder chicken, fish and vegetable producers and other value chain actors and contribute to improved urban sanitation and climate change mitigation. Specific objectives are to (i) understand the current and future biowaste streams to inform the design of a business model for sustainable biowaste management, animal feed, and organic fertilizer production; (ii) establish chicken and fish feed and organic fertilizer value chains; (iii) optimize the potential of BSF biowaste processing and (iv) build capacities and BSF technology knowhow of youth agripreneurs and other stakeholders.
The proposal is highly relevant as it aims to redirect organic waste from municipal solid waste (MSW), back into the food value chain, and hence utilize a presently neglected resource that otherwise is disposed of at uncontrolled dumpsites and landfills, causing local pollution, pose public health risks and contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Currently, more than 90% of the waste generated in Africa is disposed uncontrolled. Degradable organic materials constitute the major part of MSW, and with a trajectory of economic growth, rapid population growth, and urbanization, the challenge of MSW management, is likely to persist. Accra, Bamako, and Niamey are among the major African cities plagued by MSW management problems, particularly biowaste management.
Chicken and fish farming are among the most rapidly expanding private sectors in African agriculture and are currently based on the traditional animal feed sources (fish-, soybean- and maize-meal). The rapid growth of this private sector demands increased efforts to find alternative feed sources, competitive in price and quality, without occupying additional agricultural land.