These tiny soldiers can eat four times their own weight in organic waste – and turn it into sustainable fertiliser.

With a unique ability to consume nearly any form of organic matter it comes across, one small but mighty insect is becoming a tool to address the growing problem of organic waste and soil degradation. The bug, black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), transforms food waste into nutrient-rich biofertiliser: frass.

Insects have been long been used in agricultural practices as a food source – but now farmers are exploring the potential of bug poo as a sustainable fertiliser. With over 33% of the world's soil currently degraded, depleted of the nutrients necessary for healthy plant growth, frass can play a major role in restoring soil biodiversity and quality.

In May 2024, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded grants to three projects that seek to harness this soldier fly's capabilities. This included Chapul Farms, an Oregon-based project development company that's reweaving insects back into American agriculture to eliminate food waste, restore soil health, and produce high-quality animal feed.

Backed by the Fertilizer Production and Expansion Program (FPEP), the bipartisan support of the use of insects in agriculture highlights the growing recognition of BSFL's potential – for both waste reduction and for enhancing soil health through the production of high quality domestic fertiliser.

But despite the bug's seeming superpowers, the widespread application of BSFL remains limited. The question is: why? And how can companies like Chapul Farms, now equipped with federal support, change that?

BSFL can consume nearly any kind of organic waste, from food scraps to agricultural byproducts. Facilities like Chapul Farms utilise its voracious appetite to process large quantities of waste, with the larvae consuming up to four times their own body waste in organic matter everyday. This happens in a fraction of the time required for traditional composting, which can take up to 10 months. The larvae's efficiency allows for a rapid turnover of organic material into nutrient-rich excrement – or frass.

"They can reproduce pretty quickly too," says Shankar Ganapathi Shanmugam, Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Mississippi State University. "And it [BSFL] grows on dead and decaying material, which means that it can survive on waste."

Shanmugam is spearheading research on the use of frass as a crop nutrient, which until now has not been studied in the US – though it has been studied in other parts of the world, notably in multiple countries across Europe.

Chapul collaborates with neighbouring farms to exchange waste for frass, creating a circular system. It's a mutually beneficial exchange as the farms receive nutrient-rich soil amendment and Chapul receives the fuel for their operation. And it's doing something significant for insect populations too: helping to repopulate them.

This is because insect farming operations create a controlled environment for the bugs to thrive. The frass created from them provides essential nutrients to plants and fosters a more biodiverse soil, which encourages the growth of native plant and insect species, thus supporting the overall ecosystem.

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