Juicy maggots earn Ssemulema cash

Somewhere in Mukono District, Aloysius Ssemulema is doing the unthinkable.
Not even sweltering heat deters the 23-year-old farmer and his workers from getting their hands dirty as they sift through heaps of compost to unearth his money-maker maggots.
Ssemulema started this business after the research he conducted and found out that maggots from houseflies are rich in nutrients particularly proteins.

How he started?
“I was spending most of my time on internet searching how I can make animal feeds that are of high quality, environmental friendly and affordable to farmers so that they can stay in business. I was compelled to divert my school fees in my first year to carry out research in making fertilisers out of horns but I was not successful because I had no market,’’ he said while smiling.
After completing his studies, Ssemulema came up with an idea of making fertilisers from maggots. “I discovered that they contain more proteins better than any other animal feeds. Then I shared my idea with my friends and we started rearing maggots in July 2017 with Shs400,000, as startup capital,” he recalls.

Sources of maggots
According to Ssemulema, maggots are larvae stage of housefly. He said he started getting maggots from houseflies commonly known as musca domestica linnaeus but switched to black soldier flies [hermetia Illucens] because they are not dangerous to human being.
“I had to import pupas from South Africa which hatched into black solider flies because they do not exist in Uganda and I’m trying to supply it to different farmers so that they can multiply,’’ he said.

Why maggots
“Maggots are good for both animals such as fish, pigs, and rabbits and poultry. They have a lot of nutrients such as proteins, fats, calcium and potassium. They are affordable and better substitute for fishmeal and soybeans,’’ says Ssemulema.

Production of maggots
He said it is almost the same as the life cycle of a housefly and the difference is the black soldier housefly which has five stages including eggs, larvae, pre pupa, pupa and adult.
“I put organic matter or waste substrates such as partially decomposed cow dung, pig dung or powdered poultry droppings in trays/basins. I then carry the trays inside housefly rearing cages. I spread fly attractants such as offal, rotten fruits like mangoes, or blood (from the abattoir) on the dung or waste substrates. Once the flies come and lay their eggs on the wastes, I remove the trays carefully from the cage taking care that no housefly escapes and are taken to another cage where the larvae grows from,” Ssemulema reveals.
He added: “I carefully put other trays in the cage containing houseflies and I remove them after six hours. I add water to substrates after two days depending on the weather but I make sure that water logging is avoided. I turn the substrate to prevent caking. The maggots reach desirable size in four to five days and are then ready for harvesting.’’

Caution
Ssemulema said two days after harvesting, no watering should be done as substrates containing a lot of moisture, making maggot harvesting difficult.
“I pour the substrate containing maggots on the sieve that is well raised from the ground. I place a collecting container or polythene paper under the sieve. To fasten the process, harvesting can is usually done under direct sunlight so that maggots escapes from the sun, they fall down and then collected,” he explained.
Ssemulema ensures the process is well monitored because the maggots can escape from the collecting vessel.
Maggots are harvested at larva stage and sold to poultry farmers because they are delicious to birds when they are still alive.
According to Ssemulema, the female black soldier fly lay between 320 and 1000 eggs in an optimum condition of around 20 to 30 degrees centigrade.
They take 3-4 days to incubate and hatch. The larvae immediately start feeding on organic matter of either plant or animal origin.
Larvae reach full size of round 20 to 25mm in a bout 3 to 4weeks. Some larva may take over two months if both temperature and food availability are low. After this, they become dark and their skin becomes harder.
Prior to pupation, the larva shed off their cuticle, leaves the feed sources and searches out dry dark places in which to pupate and transform into an adult.
Once these maggots reach the pupa stage, they can be harvested, dried, grinded using a pulverize and turned into animal feed.

Profits
“I sell 30 kilogrammes per day of animal feeds at Shs3,000 each. I sell to individual farmers since my business is still small. Sometimes I sell dry larvae to farmers and they crush them into powered form for animal consumption,’’ he said.
Ssemulema says he makes profit of Shs800,000 per week and his capital has now accumulated to Shs80m.

Achievements
Through maggot farming business, Ssemulema said he has managed to employ himself immediately after his studies and other eight youths whom he is paying between Shs150,000 and Shs180,000 per month.
He said his farm has become a training ground by providing skills for both unemployed and internees from different universities.

Future plans
“I have a plan of expanding my business by creating a standard structure so that I can create more jobs for other youth,” he says.
He added: “Since maggots can be used in pharmaceuticals for healing wounds, I want also to continue adding valve on maggots by making drugs.’’ Ssemulema plans to enroll for further studies early next year.