Ecological Balance Cameroon is gearing up to start training local farmers in Cameroon on how to use Black Soldier Fly (BSF) to break down organic waste to generate farm inputs and proteins for animal feed, drawing inspiration from neighbouring Nigeria. BSF (Hermetia illucens) is a valuable insect species whose larvae have enormous potential for converting organic waste into compost, while the larval biomass generated could also be harvested for its protein and fatty acid content.
Ecological Balance Cameroon is working with Tobe Adegbite, the Founder/Director of a Nigeria-based organization, Entojutu Nigeria, to develop a model that would enable farmers to adopt the circular economy through BSF farming. According to Tobe Adegbite, the BSF farming is the way to go for both organic waste management and protein generation. ‘’Farmers that we have trained have had their expenditure on animal feed decreased by 20-40%. Others are able to break down over 400kg of farm waste in one month’’, Mr. Tobe asserted.
The Executive Director of Ecological Balance Cameroon. Ms. Limbi Blessing Tata, explained that the farm-specific model will involve the training of first the host institution Ecological Balance Cameroon (to serve as a seed bank) and then cohorts of farmers all over the Buea Municipality. “This would be followed by a three months mentorship period supervised by Ecological Balance, and 9 months period of upscaling during which each farmers cohort is expected to treat at least 400kg of solid waste per month,” she added. Meantime, Entojutu and Ecological Balance plan to source for better markets where 90% of the proceeds would go to the farmer and 10% to both organizations for sustainability.
The coming of this project is expected to contribute to solving the problem of waste management in the Buea Municipality, and Cameroon as a whole. The Buea municipality is located on the Eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon with a population of about 300, 000 people. Over 60% of the waste generated in this area is organic but the population has rather transformed roadsides into dumping sites; breading disease vectors, blocking the drainage, and polluting nearby water sources.
The quick development in the worldwide human populace and urbanization have prompted expanding requests for food creation and natural waste administration. As the requirements for nutritious food keep rising, it is basic to guarantee current and future food security, reduce waste generation, and promote sustainable farming that includes residue reuse and waste valorization. The use of the Black soldier fly an arising green innovation, addresses a tremendous potential in waste management. The fly can surprisingly decrease a wide variety of wastes and concurrently offer valuable animal or human feed and oil with high nutrient composition
Limbi Blessing and Agborkang Godfred