Using flies to turn waste into animal food

Illustration photo. (Source: lancaster.unl.edu)

According to a VNA reporter in Pretoria, recently, AgriProtein company started construction of the first industrial-scale fly farm in Cape Town, South Africa.

This is the result of a research project on turning waste into protein that the company has been conducting in collaboration with scientists at the Department of Animal Nutrition at Stellenbosch University (South Africa) for the past 5 years - an idea that is considered to be able to revolutionize the global animal feed market.

Once completed and operational in 2015, the $11 million fly farm in Cape Town is expected to produce 7 tonnes of MagMeal, 3 tonnes of MagOil and 20 tonnes of MagSoil per day.

MagMeal is a great food for fish and especially chickens. In addition, it is a sustainable food source, helping to protect the environment and preserve seafood caught for animal feed.

To achieve such a large output, AgriProtein will raise about 8.5 billion flies and feed the maggots hatched from their eggs on organic waste, which is very abundant in reality - including leftovers or expired food, waste from slaughterhouses, animal waste, etc.

These larvae are then harvested and dried into a natural food, named and trademarked as MagMeal. The production process also produces an oil (MagOil) and a nutrient-rich fertilizer (MagSoil).

Agriprotein said it will roll out its technology to recycle animal nutrients in this way worldwide in 2015.

"In the near future, we will see recycling of waste nutrients as common as recycling paper, metal or glass," an official from the company emphasized./.

According to Vietnam+