Pabna entrepreneur turns fortune around by rearing black soldier fly

Commercial rearing of black soldier fly-used as feed for fish, chicken and duck - turned the fortune around of a young entrepreneur of Pabna after his venture into duck farming failed to bring him the desired success.

The entrepreneur, Shimul Hossain, said when he was under the pressure of an upaid loan of Tk 1.8 million, a video from YouTube inspired him to start rearing the insect. A resident of Parasidhai village in Pabna's Atghoria Upazila, Shimul studied a diploma course in fashion design at a private institute in his district. Before his failed venture of duck farming in 2018, he had quit a job in Dhaka as he had objections to "small jobs" and income.

With the first training received from Bangladesh Agricultural University and then a non-profit, Shimul, now earns around Tk 200,000 a month on average from his two black soldier fly farms in Cox's Bazar and Pabna. He paid back Tk 1.6 million of the borrowed money within three years from his farm's profit. Currently, Shimul has the largest farm in Cox's Bazar, operating cost of which is now about Tk 3.0 million per month.

Shimul said he has exported egg-laying black soldier fly to India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan and his insects also have a good market in Cox's Bazar, Dhaka, and Pabna.

For oviposition, the insects are kept in a net cage, where sunlight and air is available during the day, according to Shimul. The eggs they lay are then collected in wooden trays for hatching, which takes 8-10 days. After that, it takes 20-30 days for the black soldier fly to mature enough to be used as feed. An adult fly has a life span of 8-10 days. The insects' larvae consume rotten chicken entrails, fish, and other food waste.

Stating that he does not show off his success, Shimul added that, "Initially, when I took the initiative of farming these insects, many people laughed at me. Some even hated me."

Shimul further said that patience and hard work have been the secret to his success despite the losses faced earlier in duck farming.

Poultry experts said the black soldier fly will be a blessing for the fisheries and poultry industries in the future.

Fish and poultry food packets in the markets contain a maximum of 33 percent protein, whereas the protein content in black soldier fly is up to 43-55 per cent, Pabna District Fisheries Officer Deepak Kumar Pal told the FE.

According to the District Livestock Office, poultry farms in the country have been on the rise due to increasing demand.

Over 280 entrepreneurs in 25 districts have recently begun commercially farming the black soldier fly. The new entrepreneurs produce more than 70 tonnes of insects per month, which has a market value of Tk 5 million.

Fisheries Officer Mr Pal said that the production cost of per kg of the insect is Tk 10-12 and each kilogram is sold for Tk 50-80.

Organisations worked to create entrepreneurs in black soldier fly farming with financial support from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). Pabna Government Poultry Farm Manager Azadur Rahman said black soldier fly is environment friendly and will increase fish and poultry production in Bangladesh at low expenditure.

Pabna Community Development provided business and technology training to Shimul.

The non-governmental organisation's Executive Director Md. Shafiqul Alam said, "We have been by Shimul's side since the beginning. We provided all possible assistance, including training, loans and technology."

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