MAGGOTS MAGIC AND POULTRY FEED.

The prices for maize and soy-based feed soar due to shortages ,thus many farmers are looking for alternatives. Mr Kuwana is producing maggots — small, white, crawling worms that feed on waste — to provide protein for his breeding flock of 120 free-range chickens and 1,000 quail. "I have struggled to find nutritious feed for quite some time now," said the entrepreneur, unfazed by the stink of decomposing waste filling the air and the flies swarming around. In search of a solution, he began experimenting with maggots last September. "The results have been exceptional," he said.This business is not for the faint-hearted. For Mr Kuwana, it involves stuffing pungent bird faeces into an old, open 20-litre plastic container, allowing flies to lay their eggs there. Ideally, the maggot-breeding equipment consists of two containers stacked on top of each other, with holes drilled in their lids and the base of the top one. As the eggs start to hatch, the emerging larvae — the maggots — feed on the waste before crawling out to pupate in the bottom container where they are harvested and dried for feed. The entire process takes less than a week. Maggots are made up of 65% protein and 25% fat, compared with 35% protein in soy-based feed, according to Victor Marufu of the Zimbabwe Organic and Natural Food Association. The independent organisation trains small farmers in maggot production. "The value produced from nothing competes with supply chains that are under heavy sustainability stress," Mr Marufu said. One kilogram of fly eggs turns into about 190kg of dried larvae in just three days. For some, maggot production may be the stuff of nightmares, but others are hailing it as a dream come true for controlling waste and climate-changing emissions. The industrial process of producing maggot-based stock feed — using a series of tanks in a purpose-built structure — generates five times less greenhouse gas emissions than soy or maize stock feed, according to Chinhoyi University research. One tonne of stock feed made from maggots, about two tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent is emitted, compared with about 10 tonnes for soy-based feed. Experts say maggot production could help cut Zimbabwe’s annual emissions of 417 gigatonnes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In 2000, the waste sector accounted for 16% of national methane emissions, government data shows. Zim Earthworm Farms, a farming technology enterprise, is now looking to go commercial with maggot production after a year of trials. "We have been producing a sizeable amount of maggots that are killed in the biogas digester, dried and then mixed with the maize-based feed we produce," CEO Ephraim Whingwiri said. The mixed feed, which can also be fed to pigs and fish, sustains about 300 chickens at Zim Earthworm Farms, but now Mr Whingwiri is eyeing expansion. The team has worked out that having a constant supply of fresh waste is key to maintaining a high population of flies; just one factor that will support their new business drive. "The work tends to put many people off," said Mr Whingwiri. "But the worm itself doesn’t smell bad at all." Excerpts from Business day Live