LAUSR

Saprophagous fly larvae are sustainable protein sources that can improve animal feed and contribute to human food security worldwide. The objective of this study was to understand poultry farmers' perception of the production and use of fly larvae as poultry feed in Burkina Faso. A survey was conducted among 360 households in 12 villages located in nine provinces of two regions of Western Burkina Faso. The survey showed that the majority of the poultry farmers have a good knowledge of the potential utility of maggots in poultry nutrition. Over 15.6 % of the farmers have already produced fly larvae to feed their poultry and 7 % are presently doing it at least occasionally. Other farmers occasionally collect fly larvae in decomposing wastes. However, various constraints limit the production and the use of maggots in the villages, the main ones being lack of knowledge of production techniques, difficulty of access to suitable substrates, socio-cultural constraints and ignorance of the potential of using maggots as poultry feed. The study highlights the need for raising awareness and for the development of sustainable and efficient production systems.