The world’s first commercial waste-to-protein fly farm, located in Cape Town, will be completed in mid-June, says AgriProtein Group cofounder Jason Drew.

By ‘herdsize’, the $6-million facility will be the largest farming operation on the planet. The farm will house roughly 8.5-billion flies, producing around 2 500 t of Magmeal a year.

Nutrient Recycling

Magmeal is the end result of a process called nutrient recycling. AgriProtein uses flies, reared on a large scale, to lay eggs that are hatched into larvae, using organic waste material as the food source. The larvae are harvested, dried and turned into Magmeal – “a natural and sustainable feed” made available to chicken and fish farmers.

AgriProtein is a recent winner of the World Wide Fund for Nature Climate Solvers Challenge and the United Nations IFP Innovation Award for Africa.

Drew says the group plans to open a further two factories/farms in South Africa, with the next Cape Town facility to start construction in August.

The second farm will either be located in Durban or in Edenvale, Gauteng.

AgriProtein has also launched a $1-million, five-year research and development (R&D) pro-gramme to support its expansion drive, and as part of its commitment to the emerging nutrient recycling industry.

The research team is headed by entomologist Dr Cameron Richards, complemented by Dr Ian Banks, as well as a team of four researchers and six support staff.

The team will work on a wide range of initiatives, key among them being the mapping of the genome of the fly species, starting with the black soldier fly.

The team will also be researching mating and egg-laying stimuli amongst various production fly species.

The research initiative builds on earlier commercialisation research, supported by South Africa’s Technology Innovation Agency, as well as six years of R&D into fly-rearing technology in partnership with the Stellenbosch University.

As AgriProtein rolls out factories to four continents over the coming 18 months, while working with research partners and institutions in Europe, Asia and the Americas, the group views South Africa as its lead R&D hub, says Drew.