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China-Africa Trade Information Service
info.afrindex.com
China-Africa Trade Information Service
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Cycle Farms, a French-owned biotechnology company, recently established its first plant in Tema, Ghana (the second largest city in Ghana) to address the high cost of fish feed.
Although substantial amounts of fish meal are exported from West Africa to feed fish arms in Asia, almost all aquaculture production in Africa is based on imported soya bean.
The objective of producing insect-based feed for fish and poultry production has been seen as the most sustainable means for the future (FAO).
Black soldier fly (BSF) larva has been identified by several research groups as a viable alternative source of protein to fish meal for feed. Cycle Farms' initiative is the first industrial scale BSF larvae production in Ghana. The company will use its insect meal to produce a complete feed for Ghana's Tilapia industry.
Marc-Antoine Luraschi, CEO of Cycle Farms, said that the company was attracted to Ghana by the stable economic environment and the maturity of the fish production sector. Starting from a modest 3500 metric tons in 2019, production will be steadily scaled up to satisfy the expanding Ghanaian market. From Ghana, he said, "the company hopes to move to other African countries to support aquaculture and poultry industries."
The Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens, family Stratiomydae, order Diptera) is a species of fly that is already present in Ghana and has been studied by researchers at the University of Ghana - Legon, The University of Development Studies - Tamale, The CSIR Water Research Institute, Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute of the Ghana energy commission, Ghana Wild Life Department, CABI and others. The Researches show that Black Soldier Fly larvae rearing is an environmentally friendly and economical way for local protein production. At Cycle Farms Ghana (CFG), the larvae are fed with a large panel of fruit and vegetable bio-waste locally sourced.
The company then uses its own-produced insects and several other ingredients to produce fish feed from 33 to 56% proteins, to fit all the tilapia life stages needs.
Floran Laville, Chief Technical Officer, said that "The company's focus now is on the production of feed for fingerlings, because the ones of the market are mostly imported. We are producing high quality feed which will enable the fish to achieve optimum size and health. This is crucial, if you want to harvest tilapia of high quality and size". CFG strategy is to focus on fingerlings feed production, but he does not rule out the possibility of providing specific products to meet the needs of a requesting client.
And he sees possibilities for adding catfish and shrimp feed production to their production activities in the near future.
