Jack Oyugi Omandi is an entrepreneur from Kenya known for developing Aquaprotein animal feed from water hyacinth, an invasive species in Lake Victoria.[1][2][3]

Oyugi worked as a dairy farm manager and observed that water hyacinth would be consumed by cows up to the point where it became inundated with heavy metals. In 2016, he started a company which harvested hyacinth and processed it with a fungus to increase protein levels from 14% to 50% to create a product able to be used as feed.[4][5] Fishermen on Lake Victoria harvest the hyacinth. The byproduct can also be used as fertilizer.[3]

References

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  1. ^ The Economist, March 28th 2020, page 3.
  2. ^ Ondieki, Elvis (4 February 2020). "Kenya: 4 Kenyan Innovators Whose Ideas Will Blow Your Mind". allAfrica.com.
  3. ^ a b Hodal, Kate (28 December 2019). "Fraud fighters and bamboo bikes: the African innovators driving change" – via www.theguardian.com.
  4. ^ Mwitari, David. "I make chemical-free animal feed from water hyacinth". The Standard. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Aisha Raheem and Victor Boyle-Komolafe Made the Shortlist for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation". BellaNaija. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2023.