Michigan State University and EVO Consortium Looking to Establish BSF and Waste Mangement Facilities in Malawi

Efforts through Drs. Eric Benbow and Jen Pechal of Michigan State University (MSU) have been a part of the EVO Consortium for about six months. During that time, they have worked very hard to establish a growing partnership with faculty and students at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) and the University of Malawi College of Medicine with support from the Alliance for African Partnership program at MSU.  The efforts are starting to produce fruit and show excellent promise for BSF work in the future. My trip to Malawi with Eric and Jen this past week resulted in discussion resulting in the development of a game plan aimed at, in part, seeking funding through granting agencies, foundations, or investors that will allow:
 

• Establishment of facilities in Malawi for mass production of BSF for food and feed at multiple scales of infrastructure
• Study of indigenous use of insects as food
• Students and researchers from LUANAR to travel to Texas A&M University to conduct research and get training at EVO Conversation Systems in College Station, Texas

 
If anyone is interested in learning more about these projects in Malawi, please feel free to contact Dr. Benbow ([email protected]) or Dr. Pechal ([email protected]).