Cuban Doctor Gives Up His Profession to Raise Flies
In his workshop on the outskirts of Havana, Dr. Yodermis Diaz estimates he’ll clear 450,000 Cuban pesos (US $1,160) from his fly larva-breeding business.
By 14ymedio
HAVANA TIMES – Last year, Dr. Yodermis Diaz Hernandez earned 157,000 Cuban pesos (US $407) raising black soldier flies, whose larva can be used as animal feed for cats, dogs, pigs and chickens. He earned more than double what he received annually during his 20 years exercising the medical profession on the island.
A friend gave him the idea in 2019, Diaz told the Associated Press. This year he expects to surpass past production figures and reach a ton of larva, which would represent 450,000 pesos. “We can convert our garbage into proteins, into gold for animals, and the surplus waste into fertilizer,” the retired physician assured. “We’re also helping the environment.”
The incubation of the flies takes place in a workshop on the outskirts of Havana, where Diaz himself crafted most of his equipment and tools.
“During the last decade, novel enterprises in France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and other countries have invested in the cultivation of black soldier flies. They’re voracious devourers of organic waste, the larva consumes both urban and agricultural biowastes, and eventually form serpentine masses rich in protein that can be processed for use in pet and animal feed.”
On the farm La Candelaria, in the province of Ciego de Avila, information about the cultivation and use of this native insect were shared with the Invasor, the Province’s online newspaper. “The rainy days around the middle of 2023 were enough: over a thousand larva emerged onto the surface of the compost tanks,” the newspaper wrote.
The project is directed by Miguel Angel Iparraguirre, who holds a doctorate in Biology. He asserted that the black soldier fly larvae have a high protein content of 40% – 60%. “To the point that they’re a proven substitute for all the components of the balanced feed products known today,” the scientist declared.
As part of his research, he’s also demonstrated that “the larva is capable of eliminating damaging microorganisms and bacteria like Salmonella and E. Coli.
Last year, producer Alexander Ramirez Marrero highlighted to reporters from the official government news service Granma the many benefits of the black soldier flies, as “a biological control and an ally for reducing different types of waste products, since it feeds on them.” He added: “they can also feed on and transform cow dung, domestic fowl, pigs and fish.”
For now, efforts in La Candelaria center on the intensive cultivation of the fly, which feeds on the waste products of this mini-industry itself, including rotting fruits and some food waste from the dining areas.