Breeding, Zimbabwe

The average real wage for medium-skilled workers in Zimbabwe in 2018 was approximately US$600 per month (WageIndicator Foundation 2020). As such, monthly wages for 19,417 to 58,251 workers would total approximately US$11,650,000 to US$34,951,000, respectively. The employment multiplier21 for the feed industry is 2.76, meaning that for every direct job created, 2.76 indirect jobs will be produced.22 Assuming that the employment structures of the traditional feed industry and the BSF-derived feed industry are parallel, multiplying the number of direct jobs by 2.76 suggests that the BSFLderived feed industry would generate between 53,591 and 160,773 indirect jobs in Zimbabwe. Employment estimates for Zimbabwe are summarized in table 4.24.

Environment

BSFL production has fewer GHG emissions than other feed and fertilizer sources. Unlike synthetic fertilizer production and traditional livestock feed production, which produce crushed or pelletized grain, BSFL-derived biofertilizer and livestock feed production emit fewer GHG emissions and require very little energy (Parodi et al. 2020). Feed production for Zimbabwe’s livestock population included in this analysis—pigs, goats, chickens, and fish from aquaculture—produces approximately 3,369,412 tons of CO2-equivalent (CO2-eq). BSFL meal production can meet between 6 and 17 percent of total livestock protein demand in Zimbabwe. This would reduce the GHG emissions from traditional feed production by between 190,465 and 571,396 tons of CO2-eq. Likewise, producing synthetic NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer emits 0.76 kg of CO2-eq per kilogram (Brentrup, Hoxha, and Christensen 2016). Reducing the production of synthetic fertilizer by the quantity of BSFL frass produced per the above analysis (285,454 to 856,635 tons) results in 217,014 to 651,042 tons fewer emissions of CO2-eq.23 As such, the overall reduction in GHG emissions from using BSFL frass and feed is between 407,479 and 1,222,438 tons of CO2-eq. For comparison, the GHG emissions reduction in passenger vehicle equivalent would be 88,582 to 265,747 vehicles operating for a year (EPA 2018).

TABLE 4.24 Employment Generation Estimates Associated with Black Soldier Fly Breeding, Zimbabwe

Direct employment Wage equivalent, direct employment total (US$) Indirect employment Total employment

10% 30% 10% 30% 10% 30% 10% 30% 18,417 58,251 11,650,233 34,950,698 53,591 160,773 72,008 219,024

Source: Original table for this publication. Note: 10% = low conversion rate; 30% = high conversion rate.