The sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region faces significant challenges regarding food security due to its reliance on cereal imports, rapid population growth, and low agricultural productivity at subsistence levels. These challenges are exacerbated by factors such as insect pests, parasitic weeds, diseases, declining soil fertility, and climate change. Consequently, farmers resort to unsustainable practices, including the extensive use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, leading to environmental degradation and health risks.

Despite the potential of vegetable production to enhance nutrition and income for smallholder farmers, it is hindered by pest and disease pressures, necessitating the heavy use of synthetic pesticides. This not only escalates production costs but also poses health hazards to both farmers and consumers.

To address these pressing issues, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), with funding from the IKEA Foundation, is spearheading a groundbreaking initiative. This project integrates Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming with Vegetable Push-Pull (VIPP) cropping systems, emphasizing a holistic approach to agriculture known as One Health. Building upon previous research and development efforts, particularly through the Insects for Food, Feed, and other uses (INSEFF) program, icipe aims to harness the regenerative potential of BSF farming within a circular economy framework.

On April 25, 2024, the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board, in collaboration with icipe, convened a two-day inception workshop in Kigali to kickstart this transformative project. The initiative, funded by the IKEA Foundation, seeks to leverage organic waste recycling to produce nutrient-rich feeds, optimize crop management practices, implement integrated pest and disease control strategies, evaluate environmental and socio-economic impacts, and establish robust market linkages.

Key activities during the workshop included the official launch of the project, detailed presentations on the innovative integration of VIPP and BSF farming for One Health, and discussions on capacity building, entrepreneurship promotion, market expansion, and policy development to facilitate the scaling of BSF and VIPP innovations.