Universal Insect Farming Ltd, headed by CEO Isaac Sinamakosa has addressed some of Uganda’s most prominent issues such as malnutrition and youth unemployment with the introduction of the country’s only commercial Insect Farm.
The idea started in 2015 in Germany where Isaac met Bernd Joest Walter at a youth international conference organised by Plant-for-the-Planet and the company finally started in June 2019.
They focus on creating two products namely cricket flour and cricket fertiliser. The flour is packed with vitamins, nutrients, calcium and iron and contains 65% – 68% protein. It also contains all 9 essential amino acids making it a complete and highly concentrated flour full of health benefits.
The organic fertiliser, made from cricket droppings are used by the farmers to help plants fight pests and diseases caused by the prior use of inorganic fertilisers. Cricket fertiliser has many benefits and contains a compound called chitin which plays a protective role in plants.
Apart from creating awareness amongst the community of the nutritional value of cricket farming Isaac also wants to get the community involved in the farming of the crickets by helping them to produce it at home and then bringing it to the plant for processing, creating job opportunities.
Isaac’s life journey is a real testimony that perseverance and being focused on your goals is the only way out of life-threatening difficulties. The scorching sunshine, drought, poverty, wars and diseases that he was raised under exacerbated largely by climate change drove him to tirelessly utilise any opportunities to make a contribution in mitigating the effects of climate change whilst providing a service to his community.
Watch this short video to find out more about cricket farming.
