Black soldier fly for sustainable development, Kafr el-sheik University won the 2023 Enactus Cup
Most of us may have wondered about the existence of flies in our lives, especially when one of them buzzes in our ears and front of our noses and presses on our nerves, but believe it or not, these insects can do us a very great service, such as making a significant contribution to reducing the waste of resources, deforestation, and climate change, and can become an important partner in building a circular and sustainable economy.
Kafr el Sheikh University, representing Egypt won first place and won the Enactus Cup for the best project in the world for the year 2023, which was held in the Netherlands, an international competition for creativity to serve the community and universities from different countries participate in it, and this is the fifth time in a row and the seventh time that Egypt is the champion of the Enactus Cup at the world level and the Kafr el Sheikh University team ranked among the top 10 universities.
Thanks to its innovative project “hermitia”, which addresses several problems in Egyptian society and provides sustainable solutions by offering safe, effective, and affordable feed sourced from natural ingredients is the “black soldier” insect that feeds on food waste and the project is based on extracting protein from it for the manufacture of fish feed, poultry, and livestock, as well as the exploitation of insect crustaceans in the manufacture of chitosan, which is used in several medical and vital industries. The students also invented the first water purifier that can be used in open fish farms and achieve high efficiency in these farms.
The competition aims to support students in transforming their creative ideas into projects that contribute to societal and environmental development, fostering sustainable development in their local communities.
About the black soldier fly
A black-winged insect, ’small‘ with great potential, is known as the black soldier fly, and as it represents a sustainable solution for the management of organic waste, it can be used for the production of feed fertilizers. The black soldier fly, whose scientific name is Hermetia illucens, whether it is a larva or an adult fly, is not considered a pest or a vector of diseases. On the contrary, they play a role similar to red worms in the analysis of organic matter and the return of nutrients to the soil, the larval stage of these insects has an insatiable and open appetite where they eat various organic matter and can be used in the decomposition of household food residues and agricultural residues, and one larva can consume its weight of waste per day.
On the other hand, the larvae of the black soldier fly are an important source of protein and can be used for hydroponics or as feed for agricultural and domestic animals and can be used for Human Nutrition.
The fly feeds on a wide variety of organic substances, it can turn 2 – 5 kilograms of organic waste into one kilogram of larvae containing high-quality protein, which makes it an ideal source of nutrition for livestock, poultry, and fish, whose prices in the Egyptian market are experiencing high
Biotransformation, values, and returns
Biological conversion via natural organic waste Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) has a double meaning:
Economical . Waste containing food waste, converted in a short time with minimal consumption of resources (soil, water, energy) can be reused in production chains;
Environmental. Insects can remove pollutants and pollutants (such as mycotoxins and pathogenic bacteria), thus contributing to the reclamation of ecosystems.
The larvae of black soldier flies play a vital role in breaking down organic substrates and returning nutrients to the soil. The larvae have a voracious appetite and can be used to convert agricultural waste and food scraps into fertilizer. In addition, black soldier flies are an alternative source of protein and are used for aquaculture and feed manufacturing.
Black soldier fly for sustainable development, Kafr el-sheik University won the 2023 Enactus Cup
