Small-scale Black Soldier Fly-fish farming: a model with socioeconomic benefits

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🔬研究者:Provides empirical evidence on the economic viability of insect-based feed in smallholder aquaculture, useful for circular economy and food system research.

🏢実務担当者:Offers a practical model for reducing feed costs and improving sustainability in small-scale fish farming, potentially applicable in developing regions.

🏛政策担当者:Highlights the potential of circular agriculture to support rural livelihoods and food security, relevant for agricultural and development policies.

While previous research has focused on Black Soldier Fly production on a large industrial scale, our research focuses on economic and social advantages for local economies and small-holder farmers. Our findings indicate that Black Soldier Fly provides an important alternative protein source that can be locally produced by small- or medium-scale farmers, and can be combined on farms with fish production. Our data show that Black Soldier Fly can provide an economically viable feed component for small-holder farmers These results build on existing evidence that a circular approach to insect-fish farming is a viable option that empowers farmers and can contribute to developing the local community through a local value-chain approach in the Global South. Over the past 20 years, aquaculture has become more integrated into the global food system, with a rapid growth in production and major transformations in feed ingredients, production technologies, farm management, and value chains (Naylor et al., 2021). This growth in production as well as consumption relates almost entirely to countries in the Global South, where almost all (98%) of the world’s smallholder fish farmers are located, mostly in rural areas (FAO, 2020). Smallholder fish producers operate across production intensities to cultivate a variety of species, relying primarily on their own labor and relatively small areas of land (Marschke and Wilkings, 2014). In many communities, fish farming has been practiced as a tradition (Bhujel, 2013), and in general, small-scale aquaculture is a peasant activity managed by families, with few employees or operated by a small community (FAO, 2015). Such medium- and smallholder fish farmers are found in countries on different continents, most of them belonging to the Global South where poverty rates are high and high-quality nutrition is needed. Environmental impact of production, scarcity and increasing prices of raw ingredients for fish feed are among the most important challenges for this sector (Tran et al., 2022a), because feed is the largest single cost item for fish production, accounting for 60–70% of the total costs, including smallholder fish farmers (van Huis, 2013). Therefore, to reduce costs, the exploration of new opportunities is needed. Circular economy (CE) may provide these opportunities and may bring innovation into the aquaculture sector (Thorarinsdottir et al., 2011). CE is not a new concept among smallholder farmers because it has been practiced in circular agriculture and agroecology for a long time (Barragan-Fonseca et al., 2022a). However, since aquaculture in the Global South faces similar challenges and opportunities, CE should be implemented by aiming for social equality, promoting a radical change in the creation of wealth and the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, and recovering culture (Betancourt Morales and Zartha Sossa, 2020). Several studies (van Huis, 2013; Dicke, 2018; Chia et al., 2019; Madau et al., 2020; Tran et al., 2022a), have shown how insects may be used to close the loop when referring to serious environmental and social problems that global agriculture is facing. Agriculture is responsible for more than 70% of the water footprint (Pfister and Bayer, 2014) and food production is responsible for more than 30% of overall greenhouse gas emissions from all sources globally (Smetana et al., 2019), aquaculture having a lower impact than livestock (Jiang et al., 2022). Insects provide innovative solutions as an alternative protein source for animal nutrition (van Huis, 2013; Smetana et al., 2019; Tran et al., 2022b), a source to add value and improving health, natural behavior and quality of animals (Foysal et al., 2019; Rawski et al., 2021), and a valuable tool for the transition to a bio-based CE in the agri-food sector, which aims to close the loop of agroproduction through recycling and reuse (Madau et al., 2020). The use of insects as component of fish feed has been recently covered by various reviews focussing on production performance of aquaculture species (Nogales-Merida et al., 2019; Tran et al., 2022b). These reviews indicate that insects such as the Black Soldier Fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) are promising components of feed for various fish species including salmonids (Weththasinghe et al., 2022) and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (Tippayadara et al., 2021). The BSF can be used in innovations that provide environmental, social, and economical improvements of the performance of agri-food systems (Onsongo et al., 2018; Chia et al., 2019), not only by large-scale, but also by medium- and smallholder farmers (Barragan-Fonseca et al., 2022a). Some initiatives using insects by medium- and smallholder farmers have shown that insects can support several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on food security, sustainable agriculture, combating climate change, and promoting stability and peace (Dicke, 2018; Chia et al., 2019; Barragán-Fonseca et al., 2020b; Madau et al., 2020). Currently, it is not clear to what extent circular agriculture, based on producing insects for feed, can foster sustainable livelihoods for peasant families within the fish-producing economy. We recently proposed a theoretical model: Agroecological Insect-Fish Farming (AIFF), as a new opportunity to develop a CE by implementing practices such as those related to the agroecological field for crop production and the use of insects, especially the BSF (Barragan-Fonseca et al., 2022a). Here, we present the economic impact of the transition from an industrialized linear economy to a smallholder farmer circular aquaculture, and analyze the feasibility and the conditions under which AIFF might be developed by small- and medium-scale peasant farmers in the Global South based on a case study in Colombia. To assess the direct impact of the inclusion of BSF larvae (BSFL) as a protein source to decrease the costs related to fish feed, smallholder farmers in Icononzo (Tolima, Colombia) engaged in setting up such novel circular approach of producing tilapia fish (O. niloticus) fed with BSFL as an alternative component of commercial feed. These farmers were ex-guerrilla members who had put down their arms in the peace process and started fish production within the frame of the project “Insects for Peace” (I4P) (Barragán-Fonseca et al., 2020b). These farmers replaced between 25% and 38% of the traditional tilapia feed with sundried BSFL, fish were fed five times a day during the fingerling phase, three times a day during the juvenile phase and twice a day during the growing and final phase. Fish exposed to traditional production and those exposed to the AIFF model were fed with the same regime and frequency. Italcol´s brand fish feed was used as the commercial feed. Based on this case and information collected from fish and insect producers in Colombia, a CE model called “Agroecological Insect-Fish Farming” (AIFF) was developed (Barragan-Fonseca et al., 2022a). This model conceptualizes the synergies between CE and agroecology approaches as a new opportunity to develop a CE by implementing practices such as the use of insects, especially BSF, producing high value proteins and organic fertilizer (insect waste streams—IWS) while empowering small- and medium-holder fish farmers’ economies by raising profitability (Figure 1). General description of the Agroecological Insect-Fish Farming model—AIFF (adapted from Barragan-Fonseca et al., 2022a). This model conceptualizes the synergies between CE and agroecology approaches as a new opportunity to develop a circular economy by implementing practices such as the use of insects, especially BSF, producing high value proteins and organic fertilizer (insect waste streams—IWS) while empowering small- and medium-holder fish farmers’ economies by raising profitability. More than an economy, this is a concept based on the next three principles: Principle 1—Inputs: Preserve and enhance natural capital by controlling finite stocks and balancing renewable resource flows. Principle 2—Processes: Optimize resource yields by circulating production components and materials in both technical and biological cycles. Principle 3—Outputs: Foster system effectiveness by revealing and phasing out negative externalities. The economic impact and financial projections of partially replacing commercial feed ingredients with BSFL based on a circular approach, used data obtained from insect farmers and fish farmers in Colombia and the case study of Icononzo (Barragan-Fonseca et al., 2022a). This relates to an analysis of the economic impact of the transition to a peasant circular aquaculture to support peasant economy and small- and medium-scale farmers in Latin America according to the AIFF model. To gain insight into the economic effects of using BSF as protein source in fish feed, the income of farmers when including AIFF (circular production) should be compared to a traditional linear fish production (non-AIFF). When producing fish fed with BSF as protein source, two production systems may be used: 1) producing BSF and fish in two different places, as was done in Icononzo or 2) by executing both production systems at the same physical location or production center. Fish costs: We used a two-cost structure for fish production. One is based on Icononzo′s case study (AIFF model) and the other is a cost structure without including BSF as fish feed (non-AIFF model). In this way, with BSF and fish cost structures we have a starting to analyze other In the case of BSF production, the costs by having the BSF production and the fish production in different production BSF and fish production of the same or in the same production are The fish cost structure is into the structure to a fish production system that a circular economy production through the AIFF which BSFL as feed component for the use of fish feed in their total BSF and fish production costs of Icononzo′s

• openalex https://doi.org/10.1093/af/vfad030first seen 2026-08-02 18:40:22