On Thursday 28th of November 2024, The Netherlands Food Partnership (NFP), in collaboration with TRAIDE Foundation, ACEN Foundation and the IN-FEAST Partnership, hosted a Knowledge Exchange Event on Insect Farming in Ethiopia: Many Legs Make Light Work. The event specifically focused on black soldier fly (BSF) farming. Key points included the sector's potential for sustainable food production, alternative proteins, and organic fertilizer. Challenges identified were collaboration among stakeholders in the sector, access to finance, technical capacity building and awareness / image of the sector. The session also highlighted the need for effective communication and partnerships to support BSF farming in Ethiopia.
During the event, several presenters discussed priority topics for the advancement of the industry rearing industry in Ethiopia. Mrs. Jannifer Muthike, Board member of the Association for Insect Farming and Its Products (AIFIP), informed the audience the emergence of AIFIP and the challenges it faces in their ambition to become the pivotal organisation in the insect farming sector in Kenya. Mrs. Somaya Naser El Deen PhD, Animal Nutrition Researcher at Wageningen University and Research, elaborated on the feasibility study that was conducted last year on BSF production for animal feed in Ethiopia. Finally, Mrs. Helen Getaw Yalew, Senior Sector Performance & Value Chain Development Advisor at Stichting Wageningen Research Ethiopia, elaborated on the challenges and opportunities in accessing finance for BSF businesses.
After the presentations the participants entered into side sessions based on the insect farming industry’s main challenges: access to funding, improved technical capacity / training, and improved collaboration. These priorities were a result of preliminary input from participants. All solutions discussed can be read in the Event Report that can be downloaded through this page.
Over the coming months NFP, together with TRAIDE Foundation and ACEN Foundation, will explore opportunities to advance the proposed solutions during the event.
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Author
Ibrahim Palaz
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