After graduating with a degree in Food and Agribusiness from HAS Green Academy in the Netherlands, Talash Huijbers returned to Kenya with a mission to raise fish.
“But I know that we cannot produce enough fish because of the high cost of feed. The most expensive part of the feed is protein, so I thought, why farm protein at the end of the chain when there is a bigger problem in the middle? He posed.
This led him to look for alternatives in the animal feed industry, and he landed on insects.
“One night I found myself clicking on one link and then another and at 5 o’clock I thought, ‘This is great. Why isn’t anyone else doing this?'” she said of her Eureka moment.
So in 2018, in Red Hill, Limuru, Insectipro, a company that produces animal feed and snacks from insects, was born.
The aim is to show that farming is not just about having a jembe (hoe). “There is a lot of innovation, science and technology going on. Now we want to see how we can integrate artificial intelligence into our farming.
Animal feed
With the first group of black soldiers flown in from the International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Icipe) and a rented hectare of land, Talash got the ball rolling.
“Black solider flies lay eggs, we incubate the eggs in the hatchery and after five days, they are called 5-day-old larvae. After 10 days we have adult flies ready to harvest. We vaporize the flies to kill them and any bacteria that may be on them. We then dry the insects and can be used to replace fish meal and soy in animal feed,” he said.
The feed is sold for 130 rubles per kilo. Talash said that fast feed is a favorite among farmers.
“The reason it’s so popular is because it’s available all year round. We have two distribution points in Meru and Bomet and then the rest is picked up from the farm or delivered,” he explained.
Insectipro relies on Nairobi’s garbage for fly feed. “Every day, we collect food waste from Nairobi and crush it into a paste. Then we mix it with avocado pulp to get feed. Now, we process more than 60 tons of waste every day.
They have more than 2,000 fly boxes in more than 12 greenhouses. In the greenhouse, quality checkers check to make sure that the black soldier flies are harvested in good condition.
He explained that the icy brown color of the flies was a sign that they were healthy. He added, “We harvest 90 percent of the colony and leave the rest to develop and lay eggs, and the process starts again. Whenever we want fresh genetics, we go back to Icipe.
Though for backup, we have a small colony of flying black warriors in Nakuru.
One of the final products of the black soldier fly is its excrement which is a good organic fertilizer.
Break through the market
To enter the animal feed market, Talash works with agronomists who are out in the field, guiding farmers on best farming practices. The source of his joy is the positive feedback he receives from farmers who use organic fertilizers, “who say they have fewer pests and diseases or corn and sorghum stalks are very thick that season or avocados have fewer blemishes.”
cricket
In another part of Limuru, on his father’s farm and further away from the flying black soldiers, is the Talash cricket farm.
“They have to be separated because of biosecurity. Crickets are for human consumption, so they should be put in a different place from flies, especially since they consume all the garbage of Nairobi,” said the 28-year-old. Crickets are planted, harvested, and heated in the microwave for consumption. human.
“In 2020, we discovered that insects are very useful for humans. Therefore, we began to grow crickets. Starting with eggs,” he said, pointing to a small white egg in a crate with coco peat.
“Then, after 10 days, they hatch. After four or five weeks, when they are mature and a good size, we harvest them before they develop their wings. We have to harvest them before they develop their wings because their wings stick to their mouths and give them a strange taste.
To ensure the continuity of the colony, Talash guarantees that 20 percent of the crickets develop into adults and lay eggs.
“They lay their eggs in the coco peat, and we scrape them every day. Then, the process starts again.
Caring for crickets
“We have formulated a feed for them and we have also developed a sukuma wiki to feed them. The younger crickets are given water through wet beds, as they can easily drown in water. The older ones need lava rock in their eggs so that they have a place to hatch. rest.
Crickets are housed in climate cells because they need good humidity and warm temperatures. Because Limuru is so cold, we need to have a climate cell. In the climate cell, the crickets are all arranged in a row. Every week we harvest one row and then plant a new row.”
Processing
Before the crickets are harvested, they are fed with butternut to induce diarrhoea. “Before they process it, they have to release the contents.”
After harvesting, the crickets are wrapped in paper bags and frozen.
“Because they are cold-blooded, if you put them in the fridge, they will hibernate and die slowly. The crickets are then microwaved at 120 degrees for 10 minutes to make sure they are crispy and all the microorganisms are dead and safe to eat.
Insectipro also adds a variety of flavors to crickets. It now offers salt and vinegar, caramel, cinnamon, and barbecue flavors.
“The most popular flavor among expats is salt and vinegar; locally, it’s barbecue, probably because it gives a reminiscence of nyama choma. Now we’re working on a kachumbari flavor. We’ve also worked with cricket powder, and it’s very popular among sports fans who use that method similar to whey protein.
The cricket snacks are packed in 20g packets, each retailing at Sh100, and the powder costs Sh1,350 for a 500 gram packet.
Mealworms
Talash’s latest exploration is mealworms that will begin to be stored in December 2023. “We are going to grow them to maturity, dry them, and pack them for export. They are used as pet food in Europe,” said an excited and hopeful Talash.
Develop a thick skin
What started as a small business with an initial capital of around Sh200,000 has grown into a multimillion-dollar business requiring an investment of over two million dollars (Sh260 million). Insectipro is still looking for more funding to expand its operations.
Talash says her agripreneurship journey required her to develop a thick skin.
“You cannot build a business in agriculture without being determined. Being a woman in a field dominated by men is not easy. The biggest obstacle is showing that insects are part of our future, changing perceptions.
His advice to entrepreneurs is “When looking to start a business, you have to ask yourself, ‘what problem do I want to solve? Is there a ready market? Where are you going to get the raw materials you need?”
Talash emphasized the need for a reliable and efficient workforce. “The second person I hired after me was the human resources officer. It’s important to find out your strengths and weaknesses, and then hire people to help you overcome those weaknesses.