Rwandan youth harnessing power of black soldier flies to turn foods wastes into animal feeds

Patrick Rukebesha is not your ordinary farmer, through his Agri-Think Tank, an early-stage startup he co-founded in Rwanda, he is developing innovative solutions to improve agriculture sector and protect the environment.

In this, the Bachelor of Science in Conservation Agriculture graduate from Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) is harnessing the power of black soldier flies (BSF) to convert food wastes into valuable protein feeds for animals and organic manure.

“Our aim is to help farmers across the country and beyond to access products that maximize their agricultural production, reduce environmental pollution and improve the general living standards,” said Patrick.

Agri Think Tank’s developed products are accessed and sold through an app, which identifies when waste is available to collect and connects users to the resulting compost and feed products.

How the solution works

For over a hundred million years, fly species have been breaking down waste materials, whilst providing food for fish, birds, and animals higher up the food chain.

This is the essence of Agri Think Tank’s- black soldier flies (hermetia illucens) are used to transform discarded organic matter into high-quality protein feed for the fish, poultry and other industries.

By using the remarkable nutrient-recycling capacity of the black soldier fly larvae, organic waste can be converted into high-quality protein in a very short time period.

What makes it particularly smart is the residual material from the conversion process which is a high quality compost that can be used to regenerate soils.

Wege Prize finalists

The sheer hard work of Patrick through his Agri Think Tank startup in designing solutions to improve food sustainability in Rwanda has seen the company emerge among this year’s Wege Prize finalists.

Wege Prize is an international student design competition organized by Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) that ignites game-changing solutions for the future by inspiring college and university students around the world.

According to organizers, Agri ThinkTank expected to make their final pitches for the top prize in May, this year among the other finalists.

“This prize looks to advance solutions for today’s “wicked problems” such as hunger, waste, pollution and climate change,” said Gayle DeBruyn, KCAD professor and Wege Prize organizer.

The nine month-long multiphase competition from a global field of participants represents almost 100 areas of academic study at 70 universities and colleges from an astounding 29 countries.

Through an immersive process transcending fields of study, cultures, and institutional boundaries, Wege Prize teams are inspired to reframe normal ways of producing and consuming. The teams engage in intensive research, testing, networking and prototyping, with direct feedback from the competition’s panel of expert judges.

“In this way, the teams create new products, services, business models, and solutions cutting through systemic issues — while also helping power a transition to a regenerative, circular economy,” said DeBruyn.

Rwandan startup Green promoter emerged the winner during last year’s competitions and scooped $30,000 cash prize.