The project team comprising Naeema Sulaiman Chowdhury, Ammar Mohammad Absar, Nihma Niyas, Mohammad Ali and Nowshin Tasnim during the UDST Skills Day 2025.
Doha, Qatar: A group of University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) students has undertaken a research project on the sustainable management of waste using black soldier fly (BSF). The BSF larvae have the capacity to rapidly degrade organic biowaste that is produced by markets, food industries and restaurants, thereby reducing the amount of waste going to the landfills.
The BSF farming presents sustainable solutions to food security challenges. From treating agricultural and food waste to providing an organic fertiliser of valuable proteins for feeding animals, the applications of the BSF are diverse and far-reaching. Many countries have adopted the BSF farming, including Zimbabwe, Kenya, and the UK, says the research poster by the students.
The students’ project won third place in a competition during the UDST’s Skills Day 2025, beating 53 groups and secured third place in the Zerowaste Competition 2025 as well.
The project is led by Naeema Sulaiman Chowdhury, a second year Processing Engineering student. The other members of the group are Ammar Mohammad Absar, Nihma Niyas, Mohammad Ali and Nowshin Tasnim. Though the BSF has not been introduced in Qatar yet, the group is pushing for its pilot scale adoption at the university.
The students’ project highlights that the BSF farming would help other nations, which have not yet adopted it, enhance their agricultural sustainability, economic resilience, and environmental protection, making it a scalable solution for a more sustainable future.
The project stresses that BSF farming contributes to sustainability as it converts organic waste into valuable resources, besides providing job opportunities for many. Its adoption will also help reduce carbon emissions, thereby providing a better environment, besides ensuring reliable and sustainable livestock feed.
The students say that the BSF farming aligns with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth, besides tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
Despite abundant resources, hunger persists due to unequal access and inefficiency. In Kenya, the BSF farming has enabled farmers with small farm holdings to reduce costs and generate income. The BSF larvae provide a high-protein livestock feed, lowering reliance on expensive alternatives, the project says.
With minimal space and investment required, the BSF farming offers sustainable solutions for improving productivity and economic resilience.
The project says that many people are still unfamiliar with the BSF farming, which makes it harder for it to be widely accepted. The students say that promoting BSF farming will contribute to environmental sustainability in Qatar.
