For most people, creepy crawlies evoke a sense of fear, if not disgust. And yet, bugs and insects form necessary links in food chains. They feed directly on plants and convert their food into protein and energy–and when they are, in turn, eaten by birds, small mammals and fish, these predators absorb this plant protein that would otherwise remain inaccessible to them. Insects are also pollinators for over 80% of flowering plants in the world–many of which have no way to self-pollinate: their existence depends on insects.
Some insects may even contribute to solving a looming global issue: waste disposal. As populations increase, so does waste generation—but the land to absorb all of it remains finite. With a projected 1.6 billion demographic rise by 2050, most dwellings in India are strewn with mountains of garbage along the peripheries of urban centres. It only makes the urgency more apparent: how we do away with organic trash needs to be rethought.
A lack of waste disposal isn’t just an eyesore: it also poses severe damage to citizens and the environment, by way of issues such as respiratory and gastric illnesses and contamination of groundwater. Currently, waste disposal, particularly in India, is mostly through landfills–which quickly become hotspots for methane emissions, given the fact that almost 40% of an urban dweller’s waste is composed of organic materials. A 2021 report by the NITI Aayog estimates that urban India produces between 130,000-150,000 metric tons of municipal solid waste everyday, with each person disposing 330 to 350 grams.
And while large-scale waste treatment and disposal policies are in play, one unexpected solution may be buzzing around the waste itself: flies. Though we typically associate flies with a lack of hygiene, the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) may just be able to do the opposite–consume and treat organic waste, especially food scraps and even manure, without the release of any emissions. They even do this faster than conventional methods of management.
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What is the Black Soldier Fly?
Known as the Hermetia illucens in the scientific community, this South American bug species can be found across the globe now. According to a research facility in Dimapur, it is the larvae of BSF that ingest the waste (up to 4 times waste than their body size) and convert it into protein, reducing the weight of the waste by 50%. The waste that these flies can’t consume includes wood, high-cellulose materials and plastics.
The larvae of BSF ingest the waste (up to 4 times waste than their body size) and convert it into protein, reducing the weight of the waste by 50%. (Credit: Vengolis, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)The life cycle of the Black Soldier Fly is about 45 days. The larvae themselves mature over a period of two weeks–after which, some of them are kept aside to repopulate the colony, and the rest are used as feed for livestock–they are an excellent source of alternate food for poultry like chicken. This nutrition sustains them when they reach adulthood. An adult fly can live for 5-8 days, and the females can lay up to 800 eggs!
Rearing Black Soldier Flies creates little waste. On the other hand, it encourages the maintenance of natural ecosystems. These flies are quite unique: unlike the usual fruit fly which may be a carrier of disease, the black-soldier fly is a non-invasive species, which is not a vector. They’re also not damaging to crop health.
The future of insect farming
For small-scale farmers, who are stretched for both land and resources, rearing insects can be a creative solution. Densely populated and requiring little energy, they occupy little land and consume even less feed. They’ve even been raised in humble two-bedroom apartments. For this reason, reports by the UN have suggested that these bugs may define farming in the coming decades. Just one kilogram of larvae can consume up to 30 kilograms of waste, approximately four times their body matter in organic waste. Even their byproduct is useful: the excreta, called frass, is a nutrient-rich biofertiliser that aids soil enrichment.
These flies convert compost and waste into vitamin-rich fodder, given their high waste-to-biomass conversion efficiency. (Credit: Cradley, Malvern, U.K, CC BY 2.0 Wikimedia Commons)The role of BSF as feed for poultry and livestock cannot be overlooked either. India is actually one of the largest suppliers of this feed. These flies convert compost and waste into vitamin-rich fodder, given their high waste-to-biomass conversion efficiency. The feed has even been correlated with higher productivity and well-being in chickens, as it promotes better gut health. Requiring high temperatures and moderate humidity to rear, Black Soldier Flies grow best in around 27°-30°C with 70% humidity. Ideal conditions such as these decrease the larvae harvest period from 45 days to 38 days. Fluctuations in this, though, don’t spell disaster–they just aid in mirroring natural habitats.
In Europe, insect-feed has a much larger consumer base than in India, which has led to the development of the world’s largest facilities there. EU food regulation allows at least nine species of insects to be used for animal feed purposes. The industry as a whole is expected to grow in the future, given the increasing consumption of fish and meat. However, it remains nascent in India, attributed to little government involvement, knowledge gaps within the scientific community as well as religious beliefs.
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Rising industry in India
The rearing of BSF larvae has been discovered by many agriculture and ecology enthusiasts in India. In Dimapur, Waste to Protein has utilised insects to break down household organic waste in Imphal, the state capital of Nagaland.
They begin by collecting Black Soldier Flies from the forests, after which the eggs laid by the female flies are placed in a mix of wheat bran and water, to hatch. Then, the larvae feed on food waste. Some continue to reproduce while others become feed for livestock. Once the organic waste is reduced rapidly by the larvae–around 80 kilograms in 15 days–the remains can be used as compost or fertiliser. Though Waste-to-Protein may be a small project, it has processed at least 1.2 tonnes of waste monthly in 2023.
Two years ago, the biotech startup LoopWorm–which raised $3.4 million in its seed round–also cemented this process. They started small, by rearing Black Soldier Flies in a small flat. Eventually, they expanded to a facility in Bangalore, producing over 2000 tonnes of insect protein. Their focus is more on the production of poultry and aqua feed.
The founders Abhi Gawri and Alok Bagaria believe that India has the trappings to develop a symbiotic and beneficial relationship between insects and farming, given the tropical temperatures and abundance of organic waste. While both agree that mastering the production process has a steep learning curve, they argue that India is suited to insect rearing by virtue of its natural ecosystem and humidity levels, unlike North America and Europe, where such conditions have to be mechanically regulated and tend to account for a significant portion of input costs.
This makes the process of setting up significantly more cost-efficient in South Asia.
The process has been used at a larger scale–as seen with the Kochi Corporation’s Brahmapuram plant, where alternative waste management is being explored. The facility reported in 2024 that around 8,000 tonnes of food waste was consumed by larvae in just 6 months–the remnants can be sold as fertiliser and the process emits zero greenhouse gases like methane. However, for independent and commercial insect-for-feed ventures, it has been difficult to find funding and then ready consumers–given the traditional mindset of Indian livestock businesses as well as a lack of regulatory frameworks for insect farming on the policy end.
Hence, they look to foreign markets and cut corners by relying on manual labour. The lack of government incentive for investment R&D has discouraged much competition in the industry – looking at the heavy subsidies offered in turn for fertilisers, the aim seems to be to kill insects, and not to protect them.
BSF farming may signify a cleaner, more hygienic future for India. With public urban spaces being slowly engulfed by trash and garbage, the need for a sustainable method of waste management becomes more urgent. Moreover, as rural India still reels under the pressures of a non-existent waste management system, insect farming in particular, points to the possibility of a holistic approach to disposing of organic waste, which is in sync with agriculture.
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