AgriLife Limited

By participating in this program we get the opportunity to showcase our business concept to the network of partners or program sponsors also as we grow as a company so we are always seeking guidance on how to improve our systems and business plan. Moreover, mentoring opportunity can help us to overcome business challenges by guiding us through best practices to breaking into new markets. Should we be selected for the Elevate Prize we will use the fund for the following activities:

• Construction of a large insect breeding facility to expand our production capacity to be able to recycle 10 tonnes of organic waste per month.
• Buying a 3 wheels motorcycle for collecting organic waste from food growers, distillers, brewers, hotels and vegetable and open markets.
• Buying 100 large outdoor plastic waste bins and place them in the area that generated a lot of organic waste to simplify our daily waste collection.
• Buying locally-made crusher and shredder machine to expand our capacity in organic waste handling and processing.
• Constructing fish and poultry farming prototype project in our production area so that when people come to visit us they can experience the nutritional value of our feed on the site.

My name Costantine Edward 25 years Old, I began my entrepreneurship journey in Tanzania by researching sustainable animal feed, leading to fish meal: which possessed nutritional value and water sustainability as water could be re-usable. However, the quest had come to an untimely end, realizing that fish meal was expensive and would do more harm than good for the ecology. In 2019, I Co-founded AgriLife uses black soldier fly to up-cycle organic waste into sustainable animal feed. AgriLife looks forward to a future where nutritious, affordable, and sustainable food is accessible to all communities.

Experience: Costantine Edward holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics and management from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University - China.  Costantine attained the following recognitions, attended one-year precision agriculture training in Israel, MASHAV Alumni 2020-Israel’s agency for international development and cooperation, AgroStudies Alumni 2020 - Israel International Agriculture training centre, Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI) Alumni 2020, Agribusiness Champion in Tanzania by YALI network 2019, Savvy Fellow 2020 Global brilliant fellowship program, and I am also Ashoka Changemakers fellow 2019. 

Waste is a challenge for rapidly urbanizing cities. The proper disposal of waste and the necessary infrastructure is a heavy cost for cities and residents that they cannot afford. In Tanzania, about 3,000 tonnes of organic waste is generated every day while the city authority can only collect 30%. When organic waste goes to a landfill emits methane which is 23 times as potent as CO2 as a greenhouse gas. According to the UN, rotting food waste accounts for 7% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. It also contaminates soil, air and water systems and is a breeding ground for diseases. Reference

Meanwhile, animal feed uses fish meal as an ingredient. Approximately 30% of the fish catch is diverted from human consumption to make fish-meal which resulted in 85% of fish stock over-exploited. One way around this would be to start to farm fish commercially. However, the current feed for farmed fish is made up almost entirely of other fish. Some fish require as much as 1-8 kilograms of wild fish to create 1 kilogram of farmed fish. Reference

AgriLife is pioneering a waste-to-nutrient insect technology using black soldier fly larvae to up-cycle organic waste into sustainable eco-friendly animal feed.

We are innovative because we are one of the first companies in Africa to produce Black Soldier Fly feed on a large scale. We also use a zero-waste circular system to produce a high-quality feed. At AgriLife, we utilize low-tech solutions to tackle food insecurity and waste. These qualities make us a resilient company that can outlast future challenges in Africa. We produce eco-friendly animal feeds by leveraging nature’s recycling agents, insects through a natural and easily scalable process that is labour-intensive and perfect for Africa.

Through the use of Insects; we have a target to provide sustainable, adaptable and cost-efficient alternative sources of animal protein for poultry and aqua-feed, to keep a sustainable framework, we are breeding high-quality insects on an industrial scale. With our cross cutting edge technology combined with data analytics artificial intelligence, we are able to collect farm data and use analytics to advise farmers on the best practices to improve productivity. AgriLife feed is 30-40% more cost-efficient than alternatives on the market, making farming more profitable throughout Africa. Our solution brings environmental sustainability into animal production. Unlike soybean and fishmeal, insect-derived proteins require less land, water and energy resources.

Climate action (SDG13): Food waste that ends up in landfills produces a large number of gases such as methane, CO2 and chlorofluorocarbons which absorb infrared radiation and heat up the earth’s atmosphere, causing global warming and climate change, we use insect to solve that problem.

Decent work and economic growth (SDG8): AgriLife will incorporate over 60 women and 50 youth on our out-grower system that alone will increase their income from 2$ to $5 per day which targets several SGDs indicators, such as 8.5: Full employment and decent work with equal pay and 8.6: Promote youth employment, education and training.

Responsible consumption and production (SDG12): By using insect we can reduce 30% of food waste that ends up in landfills and produces a large amount of methane – a more powerful greenhouse gas than even CO2. This environmentally responsible approach reduces the volume of organic waste in landfills while delivering high-quality nutrients for animal feed.

Zero Hunger (SDG2): We reduce farmers cost of production by 40% by providing an alternative and cheaper source of animal feed protein, that will lower the cost of raising fishes and poultry and ultimately reduce the price for the consumer, thereby making food affordable.