AgriProtein is a British agricultural and biotechnology company that uses insects to convert food waste into sustainable products including: an alternative protein for use in livestock and aquaculture feed, a natural oil for use in animal feed, and an organic soil enhancer. The company was founded in 2008 in South Africa. AgriProtein is a subsidiary of the ''Insect Technology Group''.

Products

Currently, AgriProtein breeds black soldier fly

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

on food waste from a variety of sources including restaurants and supermarkets. After they pupate, the larvae are processed into MagMeal - a sustainable, high quality protein that can be fed to all monogastric animals such as chickens, pigs, fish and pets. The company also produces an oil (MagOil) that can be used in aquaculture and pet food. MagOil is an alternative to less-sustainable oils such as palm oil. The company also produces an organic soil conditioning product called MagSoil.

History

AgriProtein was founded in 2008 to provide an ecologically sound replacement for fishmeal, which is increasingly expensive because of the depletion of fish stocks. The AgriProtein process is noteworthy in that it diverts organic waste from

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

s. After consultation with a researcher at Stellenbosch University, a presentation at Tedx in 2011, and approximately five years of development, the company opened its first commercial factory in 2015 in

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...

, near Cape Town International Airport. They received $11 million in initial investment funding, including two grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Under a partnership instituted in February 2017 with , an Austrian engineering company, AgriProtein plans to establish standardised industrial-scale factories globally. In 2018, they raised $105 million in funding, the 18th largest recorded agricultural technology deal and the largest in the insect farming sector at the time, and agreed to buy Millibeter, a Belgian company in Turnhout. They were awarded the 2013 United Nations Innovation Prize for Africa, have won the Australian Government's Blue Economy Challenge, were named a Global Cleantech 100 company in both 2017 and 2018, in 2017 were the first Food Chain Global Champion in the BBC Food & Farming Awards,. They were also included in '' Time''s first annual list of "top 50 Genius Companies" in 2018. AgriProtein have licensees worldwide and research centres studying fly genetics, insect breeding, and production of antibiotics for feed from larval proteins.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://agriprotein.com/ Agriculture companies established in 2008 British companies established in 2008 Agriculture companies of the United Kingdom Insect farming companies Animal food manufacturers 2008 establishments in South Africa South African companies established in 2008