The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in partnership with other organisations, is working to address the issue of the high cost of livestock feeds through Insects4Feed innovation.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Insects4Feed Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme opened in Ibadan on Monday. It was organised by the IITA Business Incubation Platform (BIP), the University of Ibadan (UI), New Generation Nutrition (NGN), and ProEnto.
At the opening ceremony of a 13-week incubation programme, Chief Executive Officer, IITA BIP, Dr Debo Akande, said the training was designed to provide a sustainable and affordable animal protein source for livestock feed for industries and users.
Akande, who also doubles as the Executive Adviser to Oyo State Governor on Agribusiness, said the insect-fed project was a new structured project in Nigeria supported by the Dutch Government and other partners.
“Now, we are training the entrepreneurs that would be like the first pilot of the people that would be like the venture owners of this business within the state.
“When we see how they have grown, it will become a project that would be expanded beyond this place.”
Akande said that one of the programme’s benefits was that it could complement the challenges of livestock feeds and replace some other expensive and non-environmentally friendly materials.
“The other advantage is that this animal consumed solid waste so it could help solve the problem of solid waste that littered the environment and thereby solve the environmental issues.
“It also makes use of materials that are natural to our environment.
“This also fits into the plan of Gov. Oluwaseyi Makinde in expanding the horizon of agriculture in the state from doing normal to peculiar from the usual to the unusual terrain,” he said.
In her address, Mrs Marian Peters from NGN said the programme was unique and urged the participants to take advantage of it by working together and using the knowledge gained to produce affordable feed for livestock in Nigeria.
One of the facilitators from UI, Dr Kehinde Thomas, said the training was to balance development and support food security by providing alternative protein components for livestock feeds, especially poultry and aquaculture by using Black Soldier Fly.
“Research has shown that the insect particularly the Black Soldier Fly is the best alternative to high-cost protein component in livestock feeds as it is environmentally friendly while bringing money to the purses of people.
The idea is to multiply this innovation among smallholder farmers in poultry,” Thomas said.
In an interview, Mrs Victoria Ayeni, the BIP IITA Team lead for the Insect4feed project, said the participants expected to own an insect4feed farm after the hands-on training, where they would produce insect4feed in mass for the livestock industry in Nigeria.
One of the beneficiaries of the programme, a retired diplomat, Amb. Sola Akinlude appreciated the training organisers adding that the knowledge gained would be used to expand his agribusiness.
Akinlude stated that agriculture offers many benefits that people can use to enrich themselves and become employers of labour.
