Dudu Animal Feeds

What problem are you committed to solving? 

To poultry, pig and fish farmers, sustainability, safety and quality of animal feeds is a major challenge and thus a big problem since feeds play the biggest part in their success. 

What solution are you proposing?

Black soldier flies are efficient converters of waste into high quality animal feeds. They convert organic wastes into high-quality proteins, which can be used as ingredient to make feeds. I therefore propose to use BSFs to make feeds for these fastest growing agribusinesses in Kenya.

How could your solution positively change lives if it was scaled globally?

1. Conversion of wastes to feeds will make the environment clean.
2. Youth and women can be employed in the feed making business. 
3. Feeds will be sold to earn an income.
4. Feeds will enhance poultry, fish and pig production and thus food security.

In Kenya, agribusiness is becoming popular among the youth seeking self employment and so most of them are venturing into poultry, pig and fish farming. With the increase of these agripreneurs, sustainability, safety and quality of their animal feeds is becoming a major challenge. Animal feeds are expensive and some unscrupulous traders are contaminating feeds with other materials to increase quantity and thus their profits.  Raw materials of making feeds are becoming rare making the cost of feeds manufacturing very high.

Given that feeds are the biggest determinant of success in animal husbandry, it is vital that the farmers have access to quality feeds. Lack of access to a reliable supply of quality feeds it the challenge am solving.  

The solution is to use the black soldier flies to convert wastes into high quality animal feeds to curb the feed deficiency among the poultry, fish and pig farmers. 

The Black soldier flies are efficient at converting wastes into high-quality proteins, which can be processed into feeds for poultry, fish and pigs.  The solution will entail rearing the black soldier flies and using them to manufacture the feeds - that will be branded as Dudu Feeds in the market.

With this intervention, the project will be able to bridge the gap in quality, availability and affordability of animal feeds in the fast growing agribusinesses. 

There is a big problem of unemployment among the youth in Kenya. Agriculture is however providing a promise for the young and unemployed as an alternative source of employment. They are turning to agribusiness for self-employment.

We now have many young farmers engaging in fish, poultry and pig farming to meet the ever growing demand for their products but they are faced by an even larger challenge of getting animal feeds. ICIPE has conducted a research and ha been working with young people venturing into these agribusinesses to understand their needs. Hence the birth of this idea.

The solution here is to manufacture dudu feeds by using the black soldier fly insects. This is a sustainable way of manufacturing high quality feeds rich in proteins from waste. This insect the capacity of efficiently converting wastes to feeds. With this solution, these benefits will be realised; 

1. Conversion of wastes to feeds is eco-friendly.
2. Youth and women can be employed in the feed making business. 
3. Feeds will be sold to earn an income.
4. Feeds will enhance poultry, fish and pig production and thus a reliable source of proteins.

Many young people are turning to agriculture as a source of income and employment opportunity but access to inputs is their biggest challenge. This solution is therefore using black soldier flies to convert wastes into feeds for poultry, fish and pigs to give young agripreneurs access to feeds which is a key success factor input in these agribusinesses. It will also improve yields while sustaining the environment since it will also rid off wastes. This solution is also related to the dimension on promoting the shift towards low-impact, diverse, and nutritious diets by promoting fish, poultry, pig farming.

In Kenya, the practice of rearing insects to produce animal feeds in a new idea. People are used to rearing animals whose benefits are direct and not insects whose benefits are exhibited through the animals that are consumed directly. This is therefore rare and innovative.

Insect rearing and feeds manufacturing.

The International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) has done a lot of research and supports farmers with insect farming. Through their research, there is evidence that this idea will work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqFgs1W_EQk

The video below also shows that this idea works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giintgC7Nd8

The goal of this project is to have EcoDudu Feeds brand in the market.

The biggest barrier at the moment is funds to get started. There is however ready market for animal feeds to tap into.

I am currently fundraising and looking for a partner/investor to invest in my idea.

I have a team of five people for this project.

The International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) has supported with the research on insect rearing and feeds processing and trainings.

What products or services do you provide them? 

1. High quality animal feeds for poultry, fish and pigs.

How do you provide these products or services? 

1. Selling to the farmers.

Why do they want or need them? 

1. With increasing investment in poultry, fish and pig farming for business, there is an equivalent increase in demand for feeds.
2. There are no quality feeds in the market and so this will be the better option.
3. These feeds are organic and so are highly demanded as people move to healthy eating. 

This is a new business idea and I would like partnerships that will help me establish it and nurture it to be a self sustainable business.