Tropentag, September 10 - 12, 2025, Bonn "Reconciling land system changes with planetary health"

From waste to rabbit meat using black flies larvae: A nature based solution to improve food security

¹University of Dschang, Faculty of Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences, Cameroon
²africa rice
³University of Dschang

Abstract

TAmidst escalating global urbanisation and population growth, revolutionizing food systems and redefining waste management strategies has become essential. The black soldier fly larvae are an effective way of eliminating organic waste by converting it into protein-rich ingredient for animal feed. By providing nutritious feed at low cost, it can help achieve food security. For this end, a survey characterised waste production in restaurants and households to assess quantity and quality. Collected organic wastes underwent two pre-treatments: heating (60°C) and fermentation (4 days), while another batch was used fresh as feeding substrates for BSFL, compared to a broiler starter diet over a 17-day larval feeding experimental period. The best BSFL pretreatment was used to evaluated it effect on rabbit using 4 diets with gradual level of BSFL (0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5%). The survey revealed significant disparities in food waste disposal practices: 98% of restaurants disposed of waste indiscriminately, while 95% of households reported using food waste as fertiliser. In the experimental phase, larvae reared on heated substrates demonstrated superior daily weight gain (0.05 g/larva/day) and bioconversion rates (41.76%) compared to other substrates. Additionally, larvae from heat-treated substrates exhibited higher lipid (35%) and protein (29.89%) contents than all other organic waste treatments, although this protein content was lower than that of the chick starter diet (37.53%). In another hand, the dietary incorporation of BSF did not significantly affect (p<0.05) the growth performance, cecal microbiota or blood parameters of rabbits. Conversely, the highest carcass yield (p<0.05) was recorded with 7.5% of BSFL in the diet. Similarly, the same diet significantly increased total and LDL cholesterol levels. In addition, incorporation of BSF into the feed led to a reduction in the feed cost per kg of rabbit and increased the producer's profit. This study highlights the potential of heat-pretreated waste for producing high-quality BSFL, which is a valuable source of feed in rabbit production, as it enhances farmer profitability without side effects related to animal health status. It therefore providing a promising avenue for sustainable protein sourcing in animal feed while addressing organic waste management challenges.

Keywords: Growth characteristics, household Waste, Insect Larvae, Organic Waste Recycling, profitability, Protein Resource Diversification, Sustainable Animal Feed rabbit

Contact Address: Mube K. Hervé, University of Dschang, Faculty of Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences, Dschang FOTO, 222 Dschang, Cameroon, e-mail: herve.mubeuniv-dschang.org