Prepared by: Dr. Chong Chun Shiong & Dr. Sharvini Siva Raman (Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science)

Newton Fund Impact Scheme (NFIS) project involves collaboration between Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and University of York, UK. The research project is led by Prof. Neil Bruce (CNAP, University of York, UK) and Dr. Chong Chun Shiong (Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, UTM), started in May 2020 with the research title: Harnessing sustainable development opportunities from oil palm waste: Black Soldier fly larvae as a novel income stream in Malaysia.

The co-researchers are Prof. Dr. Simon McQueen-Mason (University of York, UK), Prof. Dr. Lindsay Stringer (University of Leeds, UK), Dr. Adrian Charlton (Fera Science Ltd, UK), Dr. Emilie Devic (Entofood Sdn. Bhd.), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Goh Kian Mau (UTM), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Madihah Md Salleh (UTM) and Dr. Adibah Yahya (UTM).

This project is jointly funded by the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology, and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (UK). Also, industrial collaborators, Entofood Sdn. Bhd. from Malaysia and a UK company, Fera Science Ltd. are part of the project.

Dr. Sharvini Siva Raman, the post-doctoral researcher of this project delivered the research outputs on opportunities and challenges for black soldier fly larvae-based animal feed production in Malaysia at the Asian Food and Feed Insect Association (AFFIA) event. It was a 3-day virtual conference on Insects as Food and Feed in Asia: Building Strength and Resilience last between 16 until 18 June 2021.

The AFFIA was established in 2016 to become a collaborative platform for the insect industry in Asia on several aspects at national, regional and international levels: Promotion; regulatory clarification; market access, collaboration and education. The conference was attended by participants from 47 countries around the globe. The event was a great platform for networking with speakers and participants from various countries. As a whole, it was an excellent opportunity to share the Newton Fund Impact Scheme project’s outputs as part of our impact activities.