Dr Dennis Beesigamukama

Postdoctoral Fellow, ICIPE

Dr Dennis Beesigamukama is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Nairobi, Kenya, focusing on Insect Frass Fertilizers and Soil Health. He holds a PhD in Soil Science from Kenyatta University, Kenya. At icipe, Dr Beesigamukama led the development of insect-based technologies for recycling organic waste into nutrient-rich, disease- and pest-suppressing fertilizers, which have impacted more than 165,000 farmers, and over 3,000 entrepreneurs in Africa. His innovation on insect frass fertilizer was awarded the 2024 Norman E. Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application by World Food Prize Foundation, and the 2026 Anthropocene Award by MATE University, Hungary. He has been involved in mobilisation of over USD 35 million in form of research grants, authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications, and mentored over 40 postgraduate students. Dr Beesigamukama is currently involved in the scaling circular insect farming technologies in Africa and the Pacific region.

ABSTRACT

From waste to wealth – the journey from Africa to the Pacific of the black soldier fly

Costly agricultural inputs and climate change constrain agricultural productivity in the Pacific Island countries of Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Vanuatu. Moreover, poor organic management threatens environmental health, necessitating sustainable solutions. Since 2012, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and development partners including ACIAR have led the use of insects such as black soldier fly (BSF) in transforming low-grade organic waste into feeds, fertilizer, and other products, leading to improved agricultural production, income, climate resilience and enhanced livelihoods in Africa. The successful development and scaling of BSF innovations in Africa provides a solid foundation for scaling the innovations to other parts of the world, including the Pacific that faces similar challenges. In this paper, we present emerging evidence on icipe‘s collaborative approach for scaling of BSF farming innovations from Africa to the Pacific Island countries. We focus on the potential and scalability of BSF farming in Fiji, PNG and Vanuatu, adaptation to local contexts, validating the integration of BSF-based feeds and fertilizer in agriculture, building technical and research capacity, and socio-economic impacts of the interventions. It is envisaged that upon successful implementation, the project will open opportunities for using BSF technologies to transform crop and livestock farming into viable and income-generating enterprises for rural and urban communities in the target Pacific Island countries. This will contribute to cleaner environments, enhanced food and nutrition security, income generation, poverty reduction, entrepreneurship, youth and women employment, and sustainable livelihoods, thereby creating circular and regenerative food systems in the Pacific.