Opinion: How Africa can embrace black soldier fly farming

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Organic waste continues to pile up in landfills and uncontrolled dumps while farmers grapple with soaring feed and fertiliser costs. Piotr Barczak of Africa Circular argues black soldier fly farming can help address both challenges by turning organic waste into valuable agricultural inputs, while creating new economic opportunities.

• Mr Barczak is the Circular Economy Programme Manager at Africa Circular, a non-profit advancing circular economy solutions on the continent. The organisation implemented the 2024–2026 BUGS project, which used black soldier fly technology to improve food security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and valorise organic waste in Uganda, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast. 

• “The black soldier fly is nature’s recycler. During their larval stage, the insects consume large quantities of organic waste, converting it into two valuable agricultural products: larval biomass, a high-quality source of protein and fat for animal feed, and frass, the nutrient-rich residue that can be used to improve soil fertility and structure,” he says.