IITA BBEST PROJECT HOLDS ITS ANNUAL REVIEW AND PLANNING MEETING IN ACCRA, GHANA.

During its annual review and planning meeting held in Accra, IITA received the support of the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to foster an enabling environment for the implementation of its BSF for Bio Circular Economy and Environmental Sustainability (BBEST) Project, an environmentally- friendly project which addresses the issue of urban waste management and unsustainable agricultural outputs for poultry and vegetable producers.

The meeting which was held from 24th to 28th February brought together key stakeholders such as the MOFA, Norad, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, national and international partners working with the BBEST project namely: BNARI, CSIR-IIR AALI, INERA, UNIKIN, IER, WORLDVEG, INRAN, NIBIO and IMR.

In his address, Dr Mawufe Agbodzavu, the Project Manager gave the purpose of the meeting which are “to review the project's achievements over the past year and exchange ideas on improving its collaborative impact and strengthen networking and cross-country learning”.

Madam Vivian Hilde Opsvik, the Counsellor for Food Security and Climate, representing the Royal Norwegian Embassy and Norad congratulated IITA and partners for developing an innovative project that addresses the need for sustainable protein source and enhances organic waste utilization to create a circular system. She said “the Black Soldier Flies larvae were a high protein feed option for poultry, and aquaculture production offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional feed sources.

In her goodwill message, Prof Anna Lartey, the board member of IITA said a substantial amount of food is produced in Ghana was lost due to the inefficient supply chains, and the BSF technology was needed to address food insecurity. She called on the government and stakeholders to upscale the technology to farmers especially to youth and women farmers to get the maximum benefits from their work. On behalf of the IITA Board, she thanked the Norwegian Government for funding the project and making the innovation possible.

The BBEST project partners presented the results of the experiments conducted, an update on the mass-production of BSF larvae and frass was given, while they discussions were held on the challenges met by partners and lessons learned. Together with the partners, the BBEST Project Management discussed research results that can be repackaged for practical and effective dissemination of the benefit of BSF larvae and the frass aiming to take the BSF technologies to scale and establish market demand.

An assessment was done on the engagement of policy makers in each country by examining the progress in developing and adopting standards for using BSF products in animal feed and vegetable production in participating countries. Finally, they discussed and agreed on the Project Implementation Plan, and review the Annual Indicator Targets for 2025.

The meeting provides the platform for participants to explore the progress made in Ghana namely, the production of BSF larvae and frass at the centralized unit established in Kofisah, the gazetting of the Dried BSF standard and the ongoing certification process for the sales of the BSF Products.