Minera Yanacocha

May 5, 2023

Home » News » Kawát Perú and FONCREAGRO, from Yanacocha, demonstrate the effectiveness of insect meal for dairy cattle byarchywordys No Comments Kawát Perú was one of the winning social enterprises of the PERUMIN Inspira contest, organized by the Institute of Mining Engineers of Peru, CIP Agrilac and Kunan, which allowed it to access seed capital, professional advice and linkage with the market. In fact, Kawát, a company that produces insect meal, is working with Foncreagro, a non-profit association financed by Minera Yanacocha, to test the benefits of this product as part of the diet of dairy cattle in the Cajamarca region. According to CEO Uriel Torres, both organizations began talks in the fourth quarter of last year and agreed to send the product to the region, with which they managed to dispatch 300 kilograms of insect meal from last February to date. In this way, the project has the objective of improving the feeding and performance of the cows, having a favorable impact on the stimulation of the immune system to prevent diseases and on the optimization of the feed conversion rate (TCA). “The ACT indicates how much feed an animal consumes to produce a certain amount of meat. A cow can consume 3kg of feed and produce 1kg of beef. But if we include the insect meal, it would only need 2kg of food to produce 1kg of meat,” he estimated. Likewise, this initiative has the purpose of reducing the production costs of cow breeders, from the incorporation of insect meal to replace other higher-priced products such as cornmeal, fishmeal and soybean meal. “A farmer can allocate 1,000 soles to raise chickens, of which 700 soles are for food. But if we include insect meal in the poultry diet, the cost of food could be reduced to 450 soles. In other words, savings of more than 40% are generated ”, he indicated. The results are being studied at the laboratory level and would be reported to the parties involved in July of this year, and subsequently published in a scientific article prepared by the National University of Cajamarca, Foncreagro and Kawát Peru. “Cajamarca would be the first region in Peru and South America to investigate the effects of insect meal on dairy cattle and have the opportunity to create an industry for this product, as is done in Europe and Asia, where there are successful experiences,” expounded Production plant in Cajamarca If Kawát demonstrates the nutritional and economic benefits of its product and meets Foncreagro’s expectations, both will evaluate the possibility of building a large insect meal production plant that could supply more than 1,000 farmers. This plant would be the space for the breeding of insect larvae and their feeding with organic residues, allowing them to gain 70 times their weight in a few less than two weeks, to then be subjected to a drying and pulverizing process, and with this, make flour. “We have set ourselves the goal of transforming the livestock industry in Peru, although it sounds utopian, but it can be achieved. So, first we must supply the national market up to 25% and then take the next step towards exporting ”, he envisioned. Investment round ready For now, Uriel Torres revealed that Kawát Peru is working on building a production plant ten times larger than the one it currently has, for which the land was purchased and cleaned up and the plans and designs of the facilities are being developed. He even pointed out that the company is preparing a round of investments that will possibly be launched in the middle of this year in the city of Lima, in order to raise the necessary capital for the construction of the plant located in the San Martín region. “We require a budget of 500,000 soles to be able to build this plant and have it 100% operational. At least, we want to start this year with the perimeter fence. We are open to all kinds of support, including from mining companies,” he remarked. IIMP