Taking advantage of waste-to-wealth opportunities has been identified as a viable path for Nigerian youths to overcome unemployment and poverty.
This position was reinforced during a train-the-trainer workshop organised by the FGN/IFAD/NDDC/LIFE-ND project, which culminated in an inspection tour of a Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farm in Afam, Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State.
With the rising cost of livestock feeds putting pressure on farmers across the country, stakeholders are intensifying efforts to convert discarded materials such as agricultural by-products, organic waste, and other refuse into valuable resources for energy, raw materials, and commercial products.
The workshop exposed participants to the immense potential of Black Soldier Fly farming as an eco-friendly and sustainable source of protein for livestock and aquaculture feeds, particularly for poultry, swine, and fish production.
Mrs Becky Jacobs, CEO of More Ahead Integrated Farms and popularly known as “Maggot Jagaban,” explained the BSF production process to the participants.
“Black Soldier Fly is a harmless, non-disease-carrying insect.
It goes through its breeding cycle to adulthood, lays eggs, and the larvae are allowed to consume decomposing waste. The nutrient-dense grubs are later harvested for use in livestock and aquaculture,” she said.
Earlier, the National Environment and Climate Change Specialist for the FGN/IFAD/NDDC/LIFE-ND project, Bemigho Wategire, said the core message of the workshop was to change mindsets.
“The thrust of this workshop is to drive the narrative that nothing is a waste from production to processing,” Wategire stated.
Two other Environment and Climate Change Specialists, Mrs Edidiong Wilson from Akwa Ibom State and Dr Ikona Eteng Lakam from Cross River State, expressed confidence in cascading the knowledge gained.
“We are now well equipped to take the message of waste-to-wealth to our immediate environment,” they said.
Participants at the workshop were drawn from the nine Niger Delta states: Edo, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa, Imo, Ondo, and Abia.
