Retiring FAO coordinator pushes for 30% cut in feed imports

WESTERN BUREAU:

Dr Renata Clarke, who will retire at the end of October after 27 years with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), including the past seven in the Caribbean, wants to see the region cut poultry-feed imports by 30 per cent within five years.

Clarke, the FAO’s subregional coordinator for the Caribbean, believes that wider adoption of black soldier fly technology could reduce dependence on imported animal feed while turning organic waste into an economic resource.

“I would really like to see a 30 per cent reduction in poultry feed imports within the next five years. It’s doable,” Clarke told The Gleaner in an interview on the sidelines of the recently concluded 20th Caribbean Week of Agriculture in Trelawny last week.

The black soldier fly ( Hermetia illucens) is native to the Americas, with genetic studies suggesting South America as its ancestral home. It has since spread throughout tropical and subtropical regions worldwide.

Clarke is championing the insect not as a pest but as a solution to the Caribbean’s costly reliance on imported feed.

The fly’s larvae consume organic waste and accumulate significant quantities of protein and fat. They can then be harvested, dried, and incorporated into feed for poultry and aquaculture. The FAO identifies black soldier fly larvae among the most promising insects for industrial livestock and fish-feed production.

For Clarke, the attraction is two-fold: reducing the region’s feed-import bill while tackling the growing challenge of waste disposal.

“The fundamental issue is it is a circular economy initiative. That means we are valorising waste instead of waste just becoming an environmental burden,” she said.

Clarke also questioned claims of poultry self-sufficiency in the Caribbean, arguing that dependence on imported feed leaves the sector exposed to disruptions in global supply chains.

“Many of the countries in the Caribbean like to say we’re self-sufficient in poultry, but the reality is when there was a problem with shipments arriving, if feed doesn’t arrive, if the baby birds don’t arrive, if the eggs, how self-sufficient are you in reality?” she asked.

INTEREST GROWING

The first FAO-supported pilot project was conducted in Trinidad in partnership with The University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine. International experts worked alongside entomologists, agriculturalists, and livestock specialists to develop the system and assess its feasibility.

The FAO is now working with St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, and Dominica, and Clarke said interest is growing among farmers and young people across the region.

She believes that the UWI will play a critical role in the next phase, particularly in identifying which organic materials produce the fastest-growing larvae and in selecting higher-performing strains.

The FAO is also examining the use of sargassum as part of the substrate on which the larvae are grown.

Clarke said the initiative could also strengthen aquaculture, which she regards as essential to reducing pressure on the region’s wild fisheries while maintaining supplies of nutritious food.

“I am optimistic, am very excited. Without a doubt, it is transformational,” she said.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com