Research-driven, community-built programmes

Ongoing Project

Farmed Insect Welfare, Nigeria

Mapping welfare in a fast-growing industry

Nigeria's insect farming sector is emerging rapidly as a sustainable solution for animal feed production and organic waste management. Species such as black soldier flies, mealworms, and crickets are increasingly being reared by startups, researchers, and small-scale producers to meet growing demand from the poultry and aquaculture industries. While attention has focused on the environmental and economic benefits of insect farming, the welfare of farmed insects has received little consideration and remains largely unregulated.

This project seeks to generate the first comprehensive welfare baseline for farmed insects in Nigeria. It will map the country's insect-farming landscape, identify the species being farmed and the scale of operations, assess current welfare practices and associated risks, and examine the economic, regulatory, and cultural factors shaping the sector. By engaging key stakeholders and collecting evidence from representative farms, the study will provide critical insights into current practices and future challenges.

The findings will support the development of practical, evidence-based recommendations and welfare guidelines for humane insect rearing, handling, and processing. Through dissemination activities and capacity-building workshops, the project aims to help ensure that Nigeria's growing insect farming industry develops sustainably and responsibly from the outset.

This project is supported by the EA Animal Welfare Fund.

Ongoing Project

Aquaculture, Antimicrobial resistance, & the Environment, Northwest Nigeria

Antibiotic use and AMR in the environment

This project investigates the relationship between antibiotic use in fish farming and the environmental spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in surrounding ecosystems. Aquaculture is expanding rapidly in Nigeria, playing an important role in food systems and rural livelihoods. However, this growth raises serious concerns about sustainability, fish welfare, and environmental contamination. In many aquaculture systems, antibiotics are routinely used to prevent or treat disease, particularly when stocking density is high, water quality is poor, or biosecurity measures are limited.

While these practices may offer short-term disease control, they contribute to the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria, antibiotic residues, and resistance genes in nearby water, sediment, and soil. This study examines whether antibiotic use in fish farms is associated with measurable AMR-related risks in the surrounding environmental compartments, focusing on selected farms in the Sokoto metropolis.

The project uses a mixed-methods, non-invasive design combining environmental sampling, laboratory analysis, and structured interviews with fish farm operators. It integrates environmental and animal protection concerns within a single research framework and is closely aligned with CEAP's mission to generate evidence useful to decision-makers, researchers, and advocacy groups.

This project represents one of AFANA's contributions toward closing the research gap in animal and environmental welfare across Nigeria. In collaboration with a Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, we designed a study examining the impact of farm activities on the environment alongside their implications for fish welfare. Our research associate and MSc student, Dr. Fatimah M. Bello (DVM), leads the academic component of this work under the supervision of Prof. Abdurahman Hassan Jibril.

This project is funded by the Center for Environmental and Animal Protection (CEAP), New York University.

Ongoing Project

Veterinary Curriculum Integration, Nigeria

Bringing animal welfare formally into veterinary training

Animal welfare awareness among Nigerian veterinarians is not where it needs to be. Despite years of clinical training, welfare is typically mentioned only in passing rather than taught as a dedicated course or module, leaving a gap in how the next generation of vets is prepared to recognise and act on welfare concerns.

This project is generating the first direct evidence of that gap. Using probabilistic sampling, we're surveying veterinary students at every level across Nigeria's veterinary schools, alongside a concurrent survey of veterinary graduates and practitioners already in the field. The two datasets will be merged into a single report.

The findings will form the basis of direct engagement with the deans of Nigeria's veterinary schools, the Veterinary Council of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association, making the case for animal welfare to be formally integrated into the curriculum.

This project is currently self-funded, supported in part by AFANA's fee-for-service field research work.