GO LIVLAB-IN: How insect frass is revolutionizing horticultural crop fertilization

This is the basis of the GO LIVLAB-IN project, an innovative initiative that focuses on insect farming and the circular economy as levers to transform agriculture and the agro-industry.

LIVLAB-IN proposes a pioneering model that uses insect production to add value to byproducts, waste, and plant residues generated throughout the food chain, from the initial processing stages to waste from the food trade. Based on these flows, the project promotes sustainable and profitable solutions that transform waste into high-value resources.

The project focuses on optimizing the use of key resources—breeding substrates, space, energy, and water—and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It also promotes the efficient use of nutrients present in waste to obtain processed animal protein, biofertilizers such as frass, and biomaterials, thus contributing to more circular and resilient production systems.

This disruptive approach seeks to generate a positive environmental and social impact, promoting sustainable practices and opening new economic opportunities for primary and agro-industrial producers, who can add value to their own by-products and improve their competitiveness.

The LIVLAB-IN consortium is made up of a multidisciplinary team that combines entrepreneurial capacity, scientific knowledge, and technology transfer. Participating companies include IDEAGRO , ISONATUR , and PROTEINSECTA ; EURECAT provides scientific and technical support; ASETAGA contributes technology transfer; and ASAJA directly participates in the agricultural and agro-industrial sector.

In this context, the latest developments of the project were recently presented at Expobiotech , where members of the Operational Group outlined the progress of their ongoing work. These developments include the nutritional characterization of diets based on by-products and waste (SDR), the experimental design for obtaining samples, and the development of processes for the production of processed animal protein.

Furthermore, LIVLAB-IN is demonstrating the low environmental impact of insect farming when it is based on the use of SDRs as raw material, reinforcing a circular economy model that reduces waste, optimizes resources and improves the overall sustainability of production systems.

With a scientific and applied approach, the project analyzes and validates new diets, evaluates their nutritional impact, and defines rigorous experimental methodologies that enable progress toward more efficient, safe, and sustainable production and fertilization models. In this way, GO LIVLAB-IN continues to generate knowledge and innovative solutions aligned with the current challenges of sustainability, competitiveness, and circular economy in the agri-food sector.