Insectta, Singapore’s first insect farm started last year by Mr Darren Ho, 29, and Mr Ng Jia Quan, 30, turns tonnes of food waste into fertilisers.
In a quiet corner of Margaret Drive, the area houses rows of trays bearing what looks like mealworms to be used as food at a giant pet shop. Insects resembling houseflies swarm around in a small chamber with a protective netting.
Insectta specialises in farming black soldier flies, which are bred to eat discarded food waste and produce useful by-products such as fertiliser and compost. These are then used to fertilise the vegetables at Citizen Farm, on whose grounds Insectta is situated.
Insectta started out as a backyard project by the duo, who wanted to fix the problems of food waste and food security with one solution. Mr Ho studied natural resource management and economics in university, while Mr Ng is a former chef.
“We wanted to prove that we could create a circular economy using one insect to manage the waste management side of things to not only cut down food waste, but to also turn this waste into usable products such as compost, animal feed, fertiliser and sustainable sources of protein,” said Mr Ho.
They found an ideal solution in the black soldier fly, an insect that practically works for free, and is found in Singapore’s forested areas. The larvae of the flies act as a decomposer, breaking down the food waste and returning it as compost for farming. The larvae are also harvested as a sustainable feed that is high in protein.
Watch the video below to learn more about the black soldier fly:
Insectta has gone from processing a mere 2kg of waste to almost 500kg daily. It uses the grubs to feed livestock and the compost for soil-based farming to grow edible herbs and flowers at Citizen Farm.
At the same time, Insectta is working with Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and National Environment Agency (NEA) to ensure that the insects are a safe way to convert food waste into valuable resources like compost and insect protein for human consumption. It is also collaborating with Nanyang Polytechnic on food safety, Republic Polytechnic on animal feed and the National University of Singapore on improving fly breeding.
Insectta is also researching protocols and procedures for insect farming, and hopes to use Singapore as a benchmark for such farming on a global scale.
Mr Ho and Mr Ng are looking into supplying the insects as pet food and as a supplement or replacement ingredient for livestock feed. Their research also includes ways to produce food-grade products for human consumption using the larvae, such as insect flour and protein bars.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 2 April 2018