Dr. Hans Kelstrup the Chief Science Officer from the mealworm giant Beta Hatch, based in Seattle, Washington State, USA visited Bobo Eco Farm at the end of August 2023 on a technical support mission.

The main focus of the technical support was improving mealworm production processes, techniques and data management to drive growth and expansion both at the farm and in the schools & communities. Hans’ visit in pictures.

Bobo Eco Farm introduced agro-forestry to the women farmers in Sekanyonyi and Namungo sub-counties after a failed maize season due to a prolonged drought.

Each farmer took away 2 fruit and medicinal tree seedlings to plant in their gardens.

The newly expanded mealworm production facility has capacity of up to 10 metric tons of mealworm per month – thanks to the financial support from The Novo Nordisk Foundation.

We were also able to expand and improve mealworm production facilities in the schools.

One of the impacts of COVID-19 on our work was a re-assessment of our engagement strategy with our farmers in the communities. Originally we were doing all the egg-production at the farm and we transport the 5 day old larvae to the farmers for onward rearing. Now that an entire country can be put under lock-down, we decided to decentralize our support to the farmers in a way that would keep them going even in situations of limited mobility on our side.

We have already established 4 satellite BSFL breeding centers in farmer communities where farmers can access BSFL eggs/young larvae for onward farming. These centers are run by lead farmers trained at Bobo Eco Farm and we continues with know-how transfer through on-site visits / support supervision.

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Between April and May 2023 we were blessed with the opportunity to receive training on identification, prevention and management of common pathogens in edible insects. The online training was funded by the World Bank and facilitated by Prof. Jørgen Eilenberg from the University of Copenhagen. This was so timely because in 2021 our entire BSFL colony was virtually wiped out by an unknown disease!

In May 2023 a team from Bobo Eco Farm, MAMAH and a lead farmer went on a learning visit to ICIPE and Sanergy in Nairobi. The team also visited Bio Innovate Africa offices. Below, is the trip in pictures.
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The East-West Seed Foundation promotes the use of pumpkin products to improve nutrition and income generation among women groups. A model garden was established at Bobo Eco Farm to train the women on pumpkin production and value addition for improved nutrition and income generation through sale of such value added products made out pumpkins.

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The East African Seeds Company established partnership with Bobo Eco Farm to create a demonstration garden at Bobo Eco Farm where farmers can learn about proper agronomic practices so as to maximize crop yields: techniques, strategies, and practices used in cultivation of crops – including planting methods, fertilization, and pest control. Under this partnership the farm routinely hosts farmer field schools.

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This group of youths underwent training at Bobo Eco Farm in BSFL production and agro-forestry Read More

May, 2022Through our partners Impact Designs – Denmark, Bobo Eco Farm has received a generous financial gift from The One Life Foundation to establish a workshop that will design and produce machines aimed at improving the productivity and incomes of smallholder farmers through agro-processing (value addition) and also reduce drudgery in agricultural production.Reducing drudgery is especially important in alleviating the strain on women who are the main actors in smallholder agricultural production, and may also attract the young generation into farming.

We welcome partnerships, and internships especially for post-graduate Engineering students to participate in designing machines and tools that respond to the needs of farmers and society in general.

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence”. Martin Luther King Jr.

June, 2020

We’re more than thrilled to be the recipient of another grant to expand our work in Kyaka II refugee settlement. We will be able to train and provide kits to another 200 farmer households (about 1000 beneficiaries) to produce the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly as a source of income and another 200 farmer households (about 1000 beneficiaries) to produce the yellow mealworm as a source of protein for their families. This project is possible thanks to the generosity of the Novo Nordisk Foundation coordinated through Impact Designs!

MOPAO
With the expanded activities the team is also expanding – one notable addition to the team is Mopao, a refugee from Congo! And who knows? He might just rise from survival to thriving!

May, 2020

Certainly, farmers are paying a huge price for the COVID crisis! A lot has changed, and, in quick successions for the smallholder farmers in the past few months. Unfortunately, these farmers have limited capabilities to rapidly make adjustments to adapt to these changes.

With the COVID containment measures; farmers already face challenges accessing markets to sell their produce or buy critical inputs; prices have crushed for food stuffs in villages yet the towns struggle with higher food prices – due to logistical problems.
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May, 2020

65 farmers representing 10 farmers’ associations in Kyaka II refugee settlement and from their host communities in Kyegegwa district on a familiarization tour at
Bobo Eco Farm. They are being trained and equipped with kits to produce the larvae of the black soldier fly for animal feeds. This is a partnership project by Bobo
Eco Farm, the Danish non-profit Impact Designs and Ugandan NGO MAMAH – with financial support from DANIDA through the CISU, and The One Life Foundation.

February 2020
Bobo Eco Farm and MAMAH teams after making a presentation to Kyegegwa district leadership on the new project aimed to strengthen the ability of schools and farmers’ associations in and around the Kyaka II refugee settlement to improve nutrition and incomes through production of edible insects.
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March 2020

February 2020

Bobo Eco Farm and MAMAH teams after making a presentation to Kyegegwa district leadership on the new project aimed to strengthen the ability of schools and farmers’ associations in and around the Kyaka II refugee settlement to improve nutrition and incomes through production of edible insects.

February 2020

Bobo Eco Farm team trained in improved mealworm production techniques by Heimadol Entofarms based in Denmark; many thanks to Dorte for the self-less sharing, and to Impact Designs for coordinating this activity. This training was possible with financial support from DANIDA.

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February 2020

Thank you to all our partners for enabling us to tell our story in this short video:
Special mention to Impact Designs, and Jeppe Schjødt; may the Lord bless!

Link to the video: https://vimeo.com/398178295

July, 2019

Bobo Eco Farm is working on a project to pilot production of Tenebrio molitor among refugees and host communities in Western Uganda. The project is a partnership between Bobo Eco Farm, the Danish non-profit Impact Designs, the Danish Refugee Council (a leading humanitarian international NGO), and the Ugandan NGOs Yiya Solutions and Mothers Against Malnutrition and Hunger (MAMAH). The project aims to provide the much needed access to nutrition and income for both refugees and host communities in the face of the huge influx of refugees into Uganda and the insufficient food assistance.
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July, 2019

It was such a huge blessing this month for us to host students from the Institute of Ethics and Development Studies, Uganda Martyrs University in the final year of their Master’s degree in Development Studies.

The Head of Department Sr. Namutebi explained that her students wanted a field exposure to explore issues related to the ethics of the environment and sustainable development. It was such an interesting team – we learnt a lot from each other!
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April, 2019

Bobo Eco Farm has kicked off the training of trainers for the Faculty of Agriculture – Uganda Martyrs University in the production of the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) as an alternative source of animal feed.

The farming of edible insects is an alternative strategy for the production of protein-rich food/feed with a low ecological footprint. The larvae of the Black Soldier Fly rank among the most effective insects used for large-scale conversion of bio-waste into animal protein.

The official opening of the training was graced by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Maviiri who lauded the BSFL technology as moving within the framework of the SDGs.
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4th April 2017
The collaboration agreement signed this morning between Bobo Eco Farm and Uganda Martyrs University will enable Bobo Eco Farm train the Faculty of Agriculture – Uganda Martyrs University in the breeding/rearing of the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly in captivity as an alternative livestock feed.
Under the same agreement, Bobo Eco Farm will also set up a BSFL breeding/rearing demonstration at the University. This project is funded by the Government of Uganda/World Bank (GOU/WB) through the Skills Development Facility (SDF) implemented by Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU). The project aim is to support Uganda Martyrs University to establish a short training course for students, extension agents and farmers in the production of the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (BSFL) as a livestock feed resource.

Our experiences at Bobo Eco Farm

Edward Ssebbombo

Our work at Bobo Eco Farm has benefited a lot from other people who have generously shared knowledge / resources with us; we intend to do likewise through sharing experiences, views, and lessons learnt. Today we would like to share our experiences fighting predators in our BSFL breeding unit.

We raised our first successful BSF colony at the veranda of our apartment in Kampala. Actually the BSF breeding unit was kept at the veranda while the larvae rearing unit was stationed in one corner of the dining room! The idea was to develop & test a BSFL rearing unit that could be adopted by people in urban centres with limited spaces. We had noticed two opportunities in Kampala; foremost, Kampala Capital City Authority collects over 32,000 tons of garbage per month (only 40% of the total amount of waste generated in the city)! Secondly, the Kampala City Council Solid Waste Management Ordinance of 2000 states that the party that generates garbage is responsible for its final disposal. Read More

The World Bank funded Africa Centre of Excellence in Sustainable use of Insects as Food and Feeds (INSEFOODS) based at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) was launched in Kisumu, Kenya on 5th – 6th October 2017.

Bobo Eco Farm is privileged to be a collaborating partner on this project whose purpose is to address the challenges of sustainable food security using insects as human food and animal feed. For further information visit www.jooust.ac.ke/insefoods.

In the picture; Edward Ssebbombo, Bobo Eco Farm MD with Prof. Monica Ayieko (middle) – The PI & Deputy Director INSEFOODS, and Joel Wambua (right) during the launch of the INSEFOODS at The Swiss Grand Royal Hotel in Kisumu

Growing up in my village, almost everything had a meaning and a place in the life of the community; rats gave money when a child successfully shade each of their milk teeth; a certain bird ‘Namunye’ brought ‘blessings’ to the household under whose roof it built a nest and lived, and chasing it away would not only mean losing blessings but inviting a curse to that family as well! Insects too had roles. Some were food, and others weather sensors, while other insects (bees) alerted people to expect a visitor within hours or a few days. Some insects (Sigga, Namunyeenye) were believed to announce a looming death in a family! The kind of interaction people had with insects could tell a lot about their ethnicity and identity. Read More

Background
Over 72% of Uganda’s population of 38.8 million (World Bank, 2012/13) are smallholder farmers, majority being subsistence farmers who produce primarily for own consumption. They farm small pieces of land usually less than 5 acres, depend on nature for agricultural production, and use rudimentary tools & techniques. Small scale piggery and poultry production form a key source of their financial security, but are characterized by low output per animal and unit area, slow growth rates and small sized mature animals. Women heads of households constitute a significant percentage of smallholder farmers (30%) while youths 15 – 24 years of age comprise 21.2% (Uganda National Household Survey Report, 2009/2010). Read More