Facilitating production of insect protein feed through valorisation of ‘organic waste’ from UK farms, using an innovative "Hub and Spoke" model

Every year the UK imports 2Mn tonnes of soyameal for animal feed. Fluctuating commodity prices and deforestation mean this is economically and environmentally unsustainable. There is growing interest in using insects as an alternative protein source for animal feed. However, to compete on price with soya, insect protein needs to be produced on a much larger scale than is currently.

We will develop a Hub-and-Spoke model using Black Soldier Flies to economically and efficiently process agri-waste feedstocks into insect protein as an alternative feed, enabling farmers to recover value from farm waste (estimated at £1.2Bn) in a nutrient circularity approach.