WO2014046529A2

WO2014046529A2 - Operation of a cricket mass-rearing farm for the production of meals and a biofertiliser for market gardening

Info

Publication number: WO2014046529A2
Application number: PCT/MA2013/000022
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ahmed HAMDAOUI; Mohamed Hafidi
Original assignee: Universite Cadi Ayyad
Priority date: 2012-08-03
Filing date: 2013-08-05
Publication date: 2014-03-27
Also published as: MA35139B1; WO2014046529A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a cricket mass-rearing farm for the purpose of producing a high-quality, protein-rich food supplement for animals. The waste from the farm is also used to produce a biofertilising substrate for market gardening. In order to achieve said goals, an ingenious farming system has been designed which provides better performance and facilities for eliminating waste and maintaining cleanliness in the cages. The insects are fed from a field of alfalfa grown on site and in accordance with the strict organic farming standards. The harvested crickets are then boiled, dried and crushed in order to produce high-protein meals. Said meals are then used in various formulations for feeding farm animals (fish, fowl, rabbits, etc.). Formulations are also provided which can be used to feed humans. As for the farming by-products, they are co-composted with green waste in order to obtain a biofertiliser. The products from said method are free of toxic elements and comply with organic farming quality standards.

Description

Exploitation of a mass breeding of locusts for the production of food flours and a bio-fertilizer for vegetable crops.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention consists in exploiting a mass culture of locusts in order to produce at a lower cost high-protein and high-quality nutritional meals and the production of a bio-fertilising substrate from livestock waste. The present invention seeks to provide solutions to several technical problems encountered in the production of protein-rich food supplements for raising fish, poultry and other animals. This invention also exploits the high reproductive capacity of locusts to produce quality food flours. It is also a question of producing a biofertilizer for the soil of vegetable crops from livestock waste. This invention also reduces the cost of breeding locusts and also increases the quality of the flours obtained and this using a field of alfalfa for feeding insects farmed.

STATE OF THE ART OF THE TECHNIQUE

According to the scientific and technical literature, many results attest to the importance of insect proteins as food products of farm animals or domestic animals. In Africa, to our knowledge no use is made in this direction. Internationally, animal by-products have never been recycled. Research carried out in our University has enabled us to extract, purify and study several proteins and peptides, with a very high protease inhibitory activity, thanks to a mass rearing of the desert locust Schistocerca Gregaria. These proteins were extracted from the ovaries of adult females. Live locusts are used by some zoos to feed their reptiles and animals (snakes, lizards, poultry ...), which proves the nutritional contribution of these insects. In Africa and parts of Morocco and before the use of pesticides in locust control, locusts were collected and constituted a food of choice for the population of the regions affected by locust invasions. The present invention thus makes it possible, thanks to controlled mass rearing of locusts, to guarantee the production of high quality food flours.

In the present invention we propose solutions to problems that oppose the use of a mass breeding of locusts for the production of food flours and particularly in terms of the cost of breeding.

Part of this invention is in connection with a US patent published on March 27, 2008, patent NO: US 2008/0075818-A1. However, our invention is distinguished from the American invention by the following points: 1- The American invention relates to the breeding of a wide range of insects, mainly earthworms, cockroaches, flies, crickets and grasshoppers (gashoppers). No indication is given of the breeding of migratory locusts (locusta migratoria) or desert locusts (schistocerca gregaria). 2- In the American invention the breeding of insects is intended primarily to produce food for fish. 3- The major difference which distinguishes our invention from the American invention concerns the nature and the quality of the feed used to feed the insects in breeding. Indeed, in the invention N0: US 2008/0075818-A1, the feeding of insects in breeding consists essentially of animal waste, fish waste, fruit waste and even some residues used in the production of organic -fuels (bio-diesel) ... This type of diet may cause pathologies in insects in breeding and may also introduce harmful chemical residues that can be found in the protein meals obtained from these farms. 4- In our invention locusts are fed with alfalfa grown on site and according to the strict standards of organic farming. 5- In our invention we also use livestock waste for the production of a bio-fertilizer. All this allows us to claim the originality and novelty of our invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention we propose the use of a mass culture of locusts, two species are of interest mainly to us: the Desert Locust (Scistocerca gregaria) and the Migratory Locust (Locusta migratoria). The main problems encountered in the maintenance and success of a mass breeding of locusts are: plant material for feeding insects (availability and cost), cleaning of cages and disposal of farmed waste, maintenance of a good ventilation of the cages while avoiding the escape of the insects, knowing that the size of the locusts varies rapidly from 1 or 2 mm to 2 or 3 cm in the first 3 or 4 weeks of development. The process that we propose allows to circumvent all these difficulties. Under optimal breeding conditions these insects have a lifespan of 2 to 3 months. The reproduction of these insects is sexual. Females reach the age of sexual maturity 10 days after hatching. During egg-laying, the female lays her eggs in a bag in the wet sand (40 to 70 eggs), the hatching of the eggs takes place after the embryonic development that lasts 10 to 15 days. A female can lay 2 to 3 times in her life. A cage containing 100 females will therefore give us after 2 to 3 months of breeding about 10,000 insects. A special feeding regime was developed based on alfalfa without chemical inputs, which resulted in the growth of normal growing individuals. Breeding conditions are subject to strict safety requirements (The sand used for filling the nesting boxes is sterilized) and no chemical input is introduced into the production chain.

In the same way, we propose, a technique allowing the manufacture of a biofertilizer starting from the by-products of breeding, rich in mineral elements, in chitin, enzymes, fatty acids these by-products mixed with the green waste will accelerate (choke) the process of biodegradation of organic molecules and reduce the duration of treatment, and obtain a biofertilizer and stimulating the growth of organic vegetable crops, improving their mineral nutrition and resistance to fungal attacks.

Finally, we propose in this project of invention, a process allowing to transform these African locusts known to be formidable "pests", to turn them into insects useful for the agriculture and the animal and human food! ... BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

To facilitate understanding of the technical details of this invention and especially to understand the connection between the various aspects of the invention the figures have been introduced essentially in the form of diagrams.

FIG. 1: diagram representing the three components of the invention: breeding, the production of food flours and the production of bio-fertilizer.

Fig 2: more detailed diagram showing all the steps of the technique.

Fig 3: diagrams of the various components of a breeding unit (with compartments 1, 2, 3) with gutter (4) connected to a waste collector (5).

Fig 4: Diagram showing the different stages of manufacture and preparation of food flours.

Fig 5: diagram representing the different stages of the biofertilizer production system from livestock waste.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE TECHNIQUE

A- Breeding and production of protein-rich meals:

This will be achieved through sustainable mass rearing of locusts under optimal conditions of temperature and humidity. The two species used are the Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria) and the Migratory Locust (Locusta migratoria). Under optimal breeding conditions these insects have a lifespan of 2 to 3 months. The reproduction of these insects is sexual. Females reach the age of sexual maturity 10 days after hatching. When laying, the female lays her eggs in a bag in the wet sand (40 to 70 eggs), hatching occurs after embryonic development that lasts 10 to 15 days. A female can lay 2 to 3 times in her life. A cage containing 100 females will therefore give us after 2 to 3 months of breeding about 10,000 insects. A special diet to feed the farm has been developed based on alfalfa without chemical inputs, which has resulted in individuals with normal growth. Breeding conditions are subject to strict safety requirements (The sand used for filling the nesting boxes is sterilized) and no chemical input is introduced into the production chain.

The main problems encountered in the maintenance and success of a mass breeding of locusts are: plant material for feeding insects (availability and cost), cleaning of cages and disposal of farmed waste, maintenance of a good ventilation of the cages while avoiding the escape of the insects, knowing that the size of the locusts varies rapidly from 1 or 2 mm to 2 or 3 cm in the first 3 or 4 weeks of development. The process that we propose makes it possible to circumvent all these difficulties (fig.2 and fig.3).

1- The availability, freshness and quality as well as the reduction of the cost of food will be ensured thanks to the installation on the spot, of a field of alfalfa cultivated under the strict conditions of the organic agriculture.

2- Development of a breeding system or rearing units with three compartments separated by mobile vertical partitions allowing the transfer of insects from one cage to another (fig.3). The first compartment or cagel is used to harvest the larvae just after hatching. This cage is closed at the bottom by two horizontal plates juxtaposed. The plastic top plate is completely sealed thus preventing small stadel larvae (1 to 2 mm) from escaping. After 5 to 7 days of development, the upper tray is removed to make room for a lower stainless steel tray with holes for waste disposal and ventilation of the cage. After 2 to 3 weeks of development to stages 3 or 4 of larval development, the insects are moved into cage 2 by playing on light and food. The cage 2 is lined by a stainless steel mesh with large openings of 4 to 5 mm. This compartment 2 will allow the development and reproduction of adult insects (stages 4 and 5). Nest boxes will be installed in this cage to allow females to deposit their egg bags in the wet sand. After a month of development the insects are moved back to cage 3 where they will be recovered to be dried and crushed. To facilitate the collection of adult insects, the cage 3 will first be introduced into a cold room to slow down the physiological activity of the insects and secondly in a freezing chamber for the final collection of insects. 3- A large inclined gutter is installed under each rearing unit allowing the collection of waste discharged by the 3 breeding cages (fig.3).

For the production of locust flour another problem arises in connection with a strong taste and odors which may not please certain animals. To circumvent this problem we propose to boil the insects about twenty minutes before drying and grinding (fig.4). production of a bio fertilizer substrate:

- It is known that locusts are able to digest the equivalent more than 10 times their weight of plant material per day, which generates a large amount of waste to be valued. All of the cricket rearing byproducts (digestive feces, cuticle residues produced by the moulting process that are rich in chitin, and dead insect carcasses) are used in aerobic co-composting with green waste (20% livestock waste and 80% green waste) in optimal conditions (humidity 60%, aerated structure) in bioreactor for 20 days or 40 days in the open air (for the stabilization phase) and outdoors during 02 month (ripening phase) (fig.3 and fig.5).

- The use of locust rearing by-products can accelerate the process (starter), due to the input of nutrients, enzymes and microorganisms that accelerate the rate of degradation of organic compounds added to the undergrowth -products of breeding.

- Obtaining a substrate, after 03 months, rich in mineral elements (nitrogen, calcium, etc.) and other molecules resulting from the degradation of chitin (Figure 5).

- Final product rich in mineral elements and organic molecules that stimulate the growth of crops is assimilated into bio-fertilizer with possible antifungal properties.

- Application of bio-fertilizer on soils (less than 2.5 tonnes / ha), use in above-ground cultivation for vegetable crops and mini-clods for the production of seedlings in nurseries, in particular for organic products.

Claims

A method of exploiting locust masses, characterized in that it comprises the following stages: rearing, transformation of locusts and by-products of breeding, production of food flours and bio-fertilizers.

2- Method according to claim 1 characterized in that the feeding of insects is provided by alfalfa.

3- A method according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by an alfalfa insect feed system grown according to the standards of organic farming (without fertilizer and without pesticides).

4- Method according to claim 1 and to improve the breeding system of two species of locusts high reproductive power, Locusta migratoria and Schistocerca gregaria we claim a technical transformation introducing a rearing system with three compartments characterized in that the separation of insects according to their stage of development and the ease of collection of adult insects.

5- A method according to claims 1 and 4, characterized by a collection system of livestock waste with a gutter opening on a final collector.

6. Process according to claim 1 and claim 4, characterized in that the cage 3 containing the adult insects at the end of the cycle is introduced into a cold room and then in a second time into a freezing chamber for the collection. final insects.

7- A method according to claims 1, 3, 4 and 6, characterized by a system for producing healthy food meal and free of any infection, based on a breeding with a diet based on alfalfa without chemical fertilizers or pesticides and without use food waste and the establishment of a breeding structure that meets hygiene standards.

8- Process according to claims 1, 6 and 7, characterized in that the insects are boiled, dried and milled before formulation.

9- Method according to claims 1, 6, 7 and 8, characterized in that the flours are used for animal and human food.

10- A method according to claim 1 and claim 5, characterized by a production system, from livestock waste, a biofertilizer substrate for vegetable crops.

11 - Process according to claims 1, 5 and 10, characterized by the use of locust rearing byproducts as composting starters (accelerator biodegradation of organic waste by bioprocesses).

12- Process according to claims 1, 5, 10 and 11, characterized by mixing the by-products of livestock with the green waste to obtain a biofertilizer.

13- Process according to claims 1, 5, 10, 11 and 12, characterized by a process for the transformation of livestock waste into biofertilizers to improve the mineral nutrition of organic crops.

14- A method according to claims 1, 5, 10, 11, 12 and 13 characterized by a system for producing a compost rich in chitin derivatives from the degradation of the insect cuticle.

15- A method according to claims 1, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 for obtaining a biofertilizer protective effects and stimulators of plant growth, through the transformation of chitin from corpses of insects or rejects of moults,