The Need for Alternative Insect Protein in Africa

Abstract

As the global population is expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050, food production must increase by 60% to meet demand. Increasing agricultural commodities to meet this demand for food products exacerbates several issues of human concern, such as over-fertilization and natural resource depletion. Further, changes in diets due to uncertainty in local crop availability change our food forecast. We are, however, poised to overcome agriculture and nutrition challenges, and become food secure by 2030. One challenge is to produce protein in a cost-effective, sustainable manner, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Protein is an essential key ingredient of livestock feeds, and is necessary for animal growth, body maintenance, and producing offspring. The use and optimization of farming insects for protein-rich livestock feed is a transformative area of agriculture-based research that will contribute to improved food security and meeting global sustainable developmental goals. The resulting need is to minimize the anthropogenic impacts through research-driven approaches that will improve sustainable agricultural practices. This need will be addressed with insects. Larvae of certain insects feed on decomposing organic matter and can reduce associated bacterial (including pathogens) populations. The resulting larvae can be dried, milled, and used as feed for livestock, including poultry and aquaculture. Optimizing insect life history traits and their associated microbes as novel feed for livestock is currently understudied, but has tremendous impact to increase agricultural sustainability, improve feed security, and be easily introduced into local food production chains in Africa.

To meet the projected increase in global population of the next 40 years, the world needs to minimally double the current food availability (FAO 2009). Increasing agricultural commodities to meet the demand for global food products, however, exacerbates several issues of human and environmental concern. If global food production continued to progress without alternatives on its current trajectory there is potential for shortages in the quantity, quality, and accessibility of nutritional resources, especially in developing nations and emerging economies (Mechlem 2004, McMichael et al. 2007). Further, there is greater demand in foodstock production (e.g., meat, dairy, fish) (Fig. 1) as consumers household income elevates, dietary shifts, and increased urbanization occurs (Qi et al. 2017). Some major concerns resulting from the increased foodstock demand with continued human population growth are: 1) its impact on natural resources depletion; 2) deceased stock populations (e.g., aquaculture); 3) conversation of land use from cultivation to residential areas; and 4) climate change (Godfray et al. 2010, Bajželj et al. 2014, Godfray and Garnett 2014). Presently, 30% of the world’s surface land area (70% of agricultural area) is directly or indirectly used for livestock production (Steinfeld et al. 2006).

Intense, continuous use of land and water for food production can result in adverse effects and long-term impacts on an ecosystem. Overfishing, for example, had depleted many key species that maintain aquatic and coastal ecosystems. Removal of a top predator, cod [Gadus morhua L. (Gadiformes: Gadidae)], off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada led to an increase in small fishes, crab, shrimp, and phytoplankton; thus, demonstrating the impact of trophic cascades in an Atlantic shelf ecosystem due to intensive fishing (Frank et al. 2005). Maintaining an ecosystem balance, regardless of ecosystem type, is key as perturbation to either top-down or bottom-up control can lead to ecosystem collapse (Jackson et al. 2001, Scheffer et al. 2005, Daskalov et al. 2007). However, some have argued that physical environmental changes, such climate change, may have a greater impact on aquaculture stock declines than overfishing in aquatic habitats (Schiermeier 2004). While there is evidence of negative impacts to an environment by industrial livestock practices at a global scale (Weis 2013), there are conflicting views on the impact of traditional livestock practices in Africa. Particularly, soil erosion is a major concern in lands with increased livestock and crop production to meet the food demands of a growing population. Intensification of food production has caused overgrazing, overcultivation, and widespread use of pesticides/herbicides, which results in biodiversity loss across Africa (Darkoh 2003). A study from the Eastern Cape, South Africa, however, demonstrated erosion rates were not significantly higher in overgrazing (e.g., communal grazing) regimes versus ‘optimal’ grazing approaches (Rowntree et al. 2004). Anthropogenic impacts can also be detrimental to food availability. In East Africa, the livelihoods of the Maasai and the great migration of large mammals are at risk due to increased fencing in the Greater Mara (Løvschal et al. 2017). Private fences in East Africa and veterinary fences in Southern Africa have created habitat fragmentation, overgrazing within the fenced areas, and decreased access to vital nutrients and resources (e.g., water) for nomadic groups (Løvschal et al. 2017). These social, economic, and natural resource limitations will only further manifest into amplified social pressures, such as but not limited to, increased rates of disease and demand for land and water resources as well as a lack of agricultural entrepreneurship, which only further weakens the global economy (FAO 2014). The resulting need is to minimize the anthropogenic impacts through productive yet sustainable agricultural practices. We propose this need can and should be met using a widely available, economically viable alternative to enhance food security and improve nutrition of livestock—insects.

Insect-derived protein often forms a routine part of the local diet through direct or indirect consumption (e.g., livestock feedstock) (Ramos‐Elorduy 2009, Gahukar 2011, Moreki et al. 2012, Raubenheimer and Rothman 2013, Sánchez-Muros et al. 2014). It is vital to have a reliable source of protein in a diet, as many parts of the world have limited protein and macronutrient intake, which leads to malnutrition (Müller and Krawinkel 2005). Africa in general has the lowest annual protein intake per capita per day of all the major geographical regions in the world (WHO/FAO 2013). When coupled with financial constraints on states and individuals, the value of alternate sources of proteins, such as insects, becomes immediately apparent for poor rural communities in developing countries where there are commonly inadequate intakes of energy, macronutrients, and protein. The disparity of nutritional access between developed and developing nations is evident when comparing the consumption (kg/capita) of meat, seafood, milk and eggs in Malawi versus the United States (Fig. 2; Supp Table S1 [online only]). In 2013, Malawians consumed 27.64 kg/capita of meat, milk, and seafood, while Americans consumed 332.23 kg/capita (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO] 2017). That is a 92% increase in potential nutrients consumed for those living in the United States versus Malawi. Across Africa, the rate of food consumption is variable depending on region (Table 1).

It is widely acknowledged that insects are an important source of essential nutrients, which if correctly used across production facilities scales can address various forms of malnutrition at global level. Entomophagy, or the practice of eating insects, is increasingly becoming an important topic on issues relating to food security and nutrition (Gahukar 2011). Africa, in particular, is home to some of the most nutritionally insecure people in the world (WHO 2013). Therefore, use of locally available, inexpensive sources of nutrients, such as insects, can play a significant role in addressing malnutrition, which arises from food insecurity (Maxwell and Smith 1992, Müller and Krawinkel 2005, Orsini et al. 2013). Although there are several causes for the different forms of malnutrition, it is evidently clear that malnutrition resulting from inadequate protein is rampant in Africa (Bain et al. 2013). Therefore, insect-derived protein can play a significant role in addressing protein deficiency-related causes of malnutrition. Production and consumption of edible insects across micro (fewer than 10 employees), small (10–49 employees), medium (50–249 employees), or large scales (250 or more employees) (OECD 2019) could help to alleviate inadequate dietary intake of essential nutrients.

In Malawi, there has been limited focus on the documentation, seasonality, processing, and nutritive value of insects for humans or for livestock and aquaculture feed. Unlike in other countries, such as Thailand or the Netherlands, where extensive work has been done on producing insects for human consumption (Ramos‐Elorduy 2009, Van Huis 2013, van Huis 2014, Nadeau et al. 2015, Müller et al. 2016). Any initiative that addresses this knowledge gap of reliable insect production in Africa as a food/feed stock would significantly improve the information flow to make this process economically feasible, while assisting in strategically incorporating nutritional interventions while also providing a new source of jobs and revenue for local communities (including poultry and aquaculture), which ultimate will improve the livelihood of individual stakeholders.

Need for Alternative Protein Sources to Serve a Growing Global Population

Insects have been a major part of diets for a number of people in the world for a long time (Ramos‐Elorduy 2009), especially in Asia and Africa (DeFoliart 1989, Yen 2015). Although eating insects in western societies in the past has been viewed as primitive, the thinking now has changed as evidenced by how entomophagy has developed in developed countries, such as Netherlands and Sweden. There are over 2,000 species of insects consumed by more than 3,000 ethnic groups all over the world (Ramos‐Elorduy 2009). A number of studies globally have been carried out in determining the nutritional value of edible insects. The determination of nutritional value of edible insects has been regarded as one of the bottlenecks which needs to be addressed in order to efficiently promote insects as a healthy food source (WHO 2013). Substantial sources of literature have confirmed that edible insects contained significant amount of essential nutrients, such as proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. However, with respect to Africa, as previously stated, low protein intake among poor resource communities has been a major contributing factor to other forms of malnutrition, and therefore, the focus of this paper would be more inclined to proteins.

The prevalence of various forms of malnutrition in different African countries in general has been reported to be very high with the under-five children being the most affected. A meta-analysis of demographic and health surveys (2006–2016) revealed among other forms of malnutrition that stunting levels were as follows in different Sub-Saharan African countries: Burundi (57.1%), Malawi (47.1%), Niger (43.9%), Mali (38.3%), Sierra Leone (37.9%), Nigeria (36.8%), DRC Congo (42.7%), Chad (39.9%) (Akombi et al. 2017). With respect to Malawi, although there has been a reduction in stunting, the current stunting level of 37% is still on a higher side. Although the factors causing malnutrition are multifaceted, it is evidently clear that inadequate protein intake is the main cause of the different forms of malnutrition especially to the vulnerable groups such as under-five children, pregnant, and lactating mothers. It is against this background that finding alternative accessible sources of proteins such as those derived insects which are known to contain higher values can play a significant role in reducing the incidences of malnutrition and subsequently promote human nutrition.

Available data as previously reported suggests that proteins represent a large portion of insect nutrient composition (Rumpold and Schlüter 2013). The authors have further reported that insect proteins quality, in comparison to other animal and plant proteins, needs to be assessed in feeding trials. A number of studies conducted both in Africa (Banjo et al. 2006, Teffo et al. 2007, Alamu et al. 2013, Siulapwa et al. 2014), and elsewhere (Bukkens 1997, Belluco et al. 2013, Rumpold and Schlüter 2013), have clearly demonstrated that insects contain elevated protein levels (7.4–79.6%, see Table 1 in Banjo et al. [2006]), which if fully utilized can significantly contribute in meeting recommended daily requirements with respect to proteins. Therefore, helping to combate other forms of malnutrition resulting from inadequate protein intake. Although there is large body of information indicating that insects contain high amounts of proteins, there is still a need for further studies on determination of nutritional value for edible insect protein in Africa.

Health Consequences of Malnutrition

The human gut consists of a host of microbial cells. These cells are typically reported to encode for at least 100 times more genes, although some estimates place the ratio closer to 1:1 (Sender et al. 2016), microbes play an important role in human physiology, metabolism, and gene expression (Savage 1977, Knight et al. 2017, Gilbert et al. 2018). Apart from developing the host immune function, the gut microbiota has also been reported to act as a barrier to infection by enteropathogens (Kau et al. 2011). However, this barrier may be disrupted by malnutrition and disturbances in the immune system function, which may increase susceptibility to enteric infections (Kau et al. 2011). Malnutrition is thought to promote enteric infections by affecting both the microbiota as well as the innate and adaptive immune system function (Korpe and Petri Jr 2012). Several studies have shown that diet is one of the most important factors in shaping the gut microbial community structure and function (Ley et al. 2005, Turnbaugh et al. 2006, Turnbaugh et al. 2009a,b,). A large dietary diversity is linked with a more diverse, healthy microbiota that is resilient to perturbations and adapts in ways that promote processing of nutrients (Cho and Blaser 2012, Flint 2012). Specifically, intake of dietary fiber has been shown to increase the diversity in fecal microbiota, consequently promoting gut health (Sonnenburg and Bäckhed 2016). A high fiber intake has been associated with a reduced risk of the whole range of conditions, such as breast cancer, diverticular disease, coronary heart disease, and metabolic syndrome (Aldoori and Ryan-Harshman 2002, Threapleton et al. 2013). Several foods are known to provide fiber in the human diet and these include: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds as well as beans, peas, and other legumes.

While edible insects present an excellent alternative source of protein and other nutrients, they also provide fiber that could promote the overall gut and human health (Christensen et al. 2006, Melo et al. 2011, Rumpold and Schluter 2013, Selenius et al. 2018). The source of fiber in insects is chitin, which is a modified nitrogen containing polysaccharide, exists as part of the exoskeleton, respiratory linings, as well as digestive and excretory systems (Clark and Smith 1935; Finke 2007). It is thought that chitin has some prebiotic properties and may therefore promote growth of beneficial bacterial species in the gut. Although insects are an important source of protein, their full impact on human health has not been well established. In particular, not much has been done to document the effects of an insect diet on the human gut microbiome. A recent study suggested that consumption of crickets may improve gut health and reduce systemic inflammation, having shown an increase in the probiotic bacterium, Bifidobacterium animalis, and a decrease in plasma TNF-α, respectively, in healthy human adult subjects (n = 20 [10 = treatment; 10 = control]) on a cricket diet (Stull et al. 2018). To date, this is the only study to have investigated the impact of an insect diet on the human gut microbiome. This study however only looked at a very small sample size in a developed country. To understand the real impact of insect consumption on human gut microbiome and overall health, there is need to replicate such studies on a larger scale, particularly in developing settings where the need for alternative and affordable insect protein source is greatest.

Environmental Impact and Opportunities

There is high feed conversion efficiency in insect studies that have used them as feed and food and that makes them become friendlier to the environment. However, it should be noted that more research is necessary on the global impacts (positive and negative) of farming insects for feed and food, especially when comparing to conventional crop and livestock production (Smetana et al. 2019). A good example is the requirements for the rearing of crickets that les amount of feed for each gain in body weight (Van Huis et al. 2013). In addition, simple materials can be recycled and used to rear many types of insects and that practice helps reduce impacts and recycles wasted organic matter. In comparison with other animals like cattle or pigs, production emits fewer greenhouse gases and ammonia (Oonincx and De Boer 2012, Van Huis et al. 2013). Research also indicates that insects may also pose less risk of transmitting zoonotic infections to humans, livestock, and wildlife compared to mammals and birds, but these areas could need further research. There is need to develop technologies in agriculture that should go with the food consumptions patterns to avoid anthropogenic induced climate change and variabilities (Sachs 2009). Insects are natural consumers, scavengers, and decomposers in that play a big role in recycling of nutrients; and they turn the soils in a manner where there is efficient water usage more especially rain water that is retained and in turn the soils become easy to till. The other advantage of using insects is that most species are small and make them easy to manipulate (van Huis 2014).

Despite these advantages, consumer acceptance, has however, been a big barrier in many western countries in the adoption of using insects as a viable option to solve protein malnutrition (Jouquet et al. 2011, Van Huis et al. 2013). Although, insects have been consumed in Africa for a long time, with modern civilization, there are still some segments of the population in different African countries who view insects as poor man’s food. Undoubtedly over the years, ancestors have consumed insects as a source of nutrition. Lately, this is not an exception as insects are being hunted by many people of different cultures throughout the globe. In many countries including Mexico and Africa grasshoppers are sold in village markets in dried form (Van Huis et al. 2013). These insects have high levels of protein with low in fat and processed by flying and made into different products. In other countries like Papua New Guinea, insects such as Sago grubs Rhynchophorus ferrugineus are popular and are considered a delicacy. They prepare insects using boiling processes roasters in open fires. In many parts of Australia and many parts of the world cherish the consumption of many insect varieties for their nutrition, such as termites, orthopterans, caterpillars, among others. However, many people in Western countries resist the tendencies of consuming insects. There is therefore a need to intensify awareness on the nutritional importance of insects in order to promote consumption of insects.

Alternative sources of protein have to be explored to feed future generations and among them are insects. Consumption of insects therefore many advantages apart from those alluded above, in general, insects have such positive environmental properties due to the fact that they are poikilotherms (cold-blooded) and there are few animal welfare issues involved. There is still debate as to whether insects experience pain (Sachs 2009, Van Huis et al. 2013). Historically, it is well known that dietary patterns of many people change rapidly in the world. As a result, there is a need to be aware that there are implications in the replacement of the conventional meat and meat products with edible insects. Therefore, there is a need for a paradigm shift on how insects can be produced in smaller or larger quantities (Van Huis et al. 2013).

Two Pathways for Improving Insect-Derived Protein Availability

There are two main pathways for improving availability of insect-derived protein. First, this can be derived indirectly through use of insects as feed for livestock including poultry and aquaculture and then eat its products in the form of meat and eggs or directly via human consumption. It is argued that use of insect-derived protein for human, livestock, poultry, and aquaculture diets can effectively replace expensive conventional protein feed ingredients, such as fish meal, in an environmentally friendly manner. Unlike certain species of insects [e.g., crickets (Orthoptera)] some insects species, such as the black solider fly [e.g., BSF; Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)], do not directly compete for food of direct human consumption. BSF can also use agriculture waste streams (e.g., failed row crops due to natural disasters and pest outbreaks) to complete their development. Thus, making this previously unsuitable resource valuable for shorter-term protein production versus waiting on compost from failed crops to produce a successful harvest of sufficient yield and quality.

Indirectly Via Livestock/Poultry/Aquaculture Products

Due to the high costs of poultry and aquaculture feed which comprises up to 80% of total cost, affordable, and readily available feed is mostly out of reach for majority of smallholders in developing countries, such as Malawi. This situation demands that alternative feed sources be explored including prospects for utilization of insect-derived protein. More importantly, studies have shown that the nutrient composition of insects-based protein meals is comparable or better than that of commonly used conventional protein sources such as plant-based soybean meal or fish meal (Sheppard et al. 1994, Ssepuuya et al. 2017). Recently, it was reported that flying ant meal (Kaudzu and Safalaoh 2018) and mopane worm meal (Chirwa and Safalaoh 2018) could successfully be incorporated up to 10% of the diet in broiler diets without compromising body weight gain up to 4 wk. However, the constraint was lack of reliable sources and quantities to routinely incorporate the insects routinely into the diets.

A good example of insects that can be used as an insect-derived protein feed include: BSF, grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera); house flies [Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae)]; and mealworms [Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)] (Tomberlin et al. 2015, Ssepuuya et al. 2017). The BSF has successfully been incorporated to replace 50% of fish meal in rainbow trout (St‐Hilaire et al. 2007) and in chickens (Hale 1973). In addition to being an ideal protein source, BSF is also a good aid in preventing pollution through its ability to recycle livestock waste, such as manure (Oonincx et al. 2015), and other organic waste by-products including food wastes (Surendra et al. 2016, Lalander et al. 2018, Mutafela et al. 2018). According to a recent review, BSF is not a pest and can act as a suppressant of pests livestock facilities (Tomberlin et al. 2015).

However, when evaluating insects as an alternative food or feed source, there is need to consider issues of quantity, quality, and cost of each species. First, there is need to consider the types of insect species available or those that easily be domesticated through importation from other countries such as BSF. If produced inexpensively, partial or complete replacement of major sources, such as soybean meal or fish meal, implies increased profitability and widening of the protein-feed resource base on which to draw from. With better nutrition, it is envisaged that productivity of poultry, aquaculture can be enhanced thereby, ceteris paribus, increasing availability and accessibility of poultry and fish products for human consumption at affordable costs.

Direct Consumption

The momentum to promote consumption of insects especially for low resource communities in developing countries such as in Africa continues to significantly grow. This momentum on promotion of edible insect’s consumption has been necessitated by a wide range of reasons, such as finding the alternative source of inexpensive protein sources, increasing population, livelihood improvement, and economic development and, among many others. However, despite the campaign to promote consumption of insects, some issues which would negatively affect consumption of insects needs to be adequately addressed. Some of these issues include the following:

Presence of Antinutrient Properties in Insects

A number of studies on insects have shown that insects contains a number of antinutrients, such as hydrocyanide, oxalate, phytate, and tannins. However, four insect species contained generally low levels of antinutrients far below the toxic levels for human consumption (Ekop et al. 2010). There is a need for further studies to establish the concentration of these antinutrients in various insect orders, so the promotion of insect consumption should be accompanied with information on level of antinutrients. In addition, it is generally acknowledged that chitin, a structural nitrogen-based carbohydrate found in exoskeleton of insects may have antinutrient properties which might have potential, negative effects on protein digestibility.

Allergens

From the available literature, there is limited literature reporting the presence of allergens in insects. However, this could be attributed to the fact that in most communities especially in Africa where people consume insects, most of the studies so far has been confined on nutritional value and quality determination. Other authors have previously reported that few studies have been published on allergic reactions due to insect ingestion (Belluco et al. 2013). The authors have further reported that differences in geographical food traditions can result in food allergy risk. This therefore calls for a need to invest in research pertaining to allergenic reactions resulting from consumption of insects before embarking on promotion of edible insects.

Microbiological Safety

It is very common, especially in Africa that insects are usually sold in the open in markets, which pause serious safety concerns. However, specific studies on the microbiological safety of insects as food are infrequent in the scientific literature (Belluco et al. 2013, 2015, van der Fels‐Klerx et al. 2018). Other studies have reported that spore forming bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae in mealworms and crickets were having higher levels in insects that had been crushed likely due to release of bacteria from the gut. Additionally, there is the possibility of prions occurring in edible insects given the diet and environment (e.g., human or ruminant derived sources) in which an insect can develop. But at this time, there has been no documentation of insect-specific prion uptake through contaminated sources (Schlüter et al. 2017). This area needs special attention to establish vigilance and maintain global safety procedures, if consumption of insects is to be promoted.

Mass Production of Insects

The extent of consumption of different insect species consumed especially in Africa depends on the season they appear and therefore any effort to promote consumption of insects on a bigger scale would very much rest on mass production of the insects. However, in Africa, mass production of insects is still in infancy and therefore there is need to invest in this technology so that different types of insects can be consumed year-round for good nutrition among all, and especially vulnerable, communities.

Legislation

Currently, there is no comprehensive database existing to describe the legislative policies on insects as food or feed in Africa. Rather one must search rules for each of the 54 (46 sub-Saharan) countries for insect specific legislation. Many African countries, such as Malawi, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana, and Kenya) have either no or weak legislation pertaining to production, consumption and marketing of edible insects. Even South Africa, which is a large-scale producer of insects as feed, lacks a national policy framework (Niassy et al. 2018). This legislation is unlike in western countries where there are laid down guidelines pertaining to issues related to production, consumption and marketing of edible insects. Against this background, there is need for proper legislation regarding production, consumption, and marketing of insects if insect’s consumption is to be promoted.

Traditional Farming and Harvesting of Insects

While there is a growing global trend of mass rearing insects for protein, yet only a handful of companies exist in Africa to commercially produce insects as food/feed. Direct insect consumption is based on seasonality, habitat, indigenous knowledge, and labor to collect insects as they naturally occur. Eight major orders of insects are directly consumed across Africa, based on a survey performed by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe): Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Coleoptera, Homoptera, Isoptera, Hymenoptera, Heteroptera, and Diptera. As an example, the mophane worm is the larval stage of the mophane moth, Imbrasia belina (Westwood) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). These caterpillars of the emperor butterfly occur in Southern Africa’s summer, a time when other food staples can be in short supply. Dried, stewed, smoked, or fried, the insects are a popular delicacy. For an excellent review of the insects consumed in specific regions, please see Kelemu et al. 2015.

Insect phenology can be negatively impacted by food availability, alterations to habitat, and temperatures, which are all being directly or indirectly modified by climate change (Visser and Both 2005, Robinet and Roques 2010). Therefore, there is vital need to reliably produce insects using locally available resources, akin to conventional farming practices, such as animal husbandry. Currently, major species of insects are farmed for insects as food/feed are crickets, mealworms, BSF, and palm weevil larvae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). The BSF, for example, is a system that offers several benefits that will be useful for generating alternative protein sources in Africa. BSF larvae, in combination with their associated microbes (microbiomes), are voracious consumers of decomposing organic matter (Zheng et al. 2013). The most common forms of decomposing organic matter are manure, postharvest agricultural waste, and postconsumer food waste. BSF larvae use the nutrients from the organic wastes to complete their lifecycle, but the impact of the diet composition on the BSF nutritional output is still being investigated. Another advantage to using BSF as microlivestock is that feeding ceases during pupation, and there is no feeding in the adult life stage; they survive on a large fat body stored during the larval stage (Sheppard et al. 2002). BSF larvae disperse at the end of the larval stage, a characteristic that can be exploited to facilitate minimum cost through nonmechanized self-harvesting (Sheppard et al. 1994). BSF larvae metabolize nutrients within the surrounding medium to support tissue accretion and deposition of energy stores in the form of lipids (Diener et al. 2009), while suppressing pathogens in the wastes (Erickson et al. 2004, Liu et al. 2008). Consequently, microbial conversion of organic compounds to methane and odorous volatile compounds is decreased, as is total manure mass (Newton et al. 2005, Myers et al. 2008). Determining the ideal insect for the location and resources available may take some trial and error in the beginning stages.

Mass rearing insects is an appealing alternative to traditional livestock production, as insects require much less feed per kilogram of product. For example, beef requires 10 kg of feed, pork requires 5 kg of feed, poultry requires 2.5 kg of feed, and crickets require1.7 kg of feed to produce 1 kg of meat (FAO 2013). Insect farming has lower environmental impact with reduced land use, reduced greenhouse gasses emission, and depending on the set up of a rearing facility, there can be low energy input or use of renewable energy sources, to decrease the dependency on traditional energy sources, such as fuel. Other benefit of insect farming is any individual can begin an insect farm, thus this sector is promoting the equitability and economic contributions through women and youth led enterprises. For insect farming to be successful across Africa, the set up needs to work across habitats, in dry or wet seasons; is not be reliant on advanced technology or energy consumption; and requires minimum overhead to maintain the system. The use of insects as food and feed has wide applicability and opportunities to partner with stakeholders, the private sector, government, and humanitarian and development assistance programs. The ultimate, long-term goal of farming insects is to develop and assess the use and safety of insects as a widely available, sustainable feed for microlivestock production.

Conclusions

It is clear that insects contain substantial amounts of proteins, which if fully utilized, can play a significant role in increasing the protein intake among people in Africa. Therefore, reducing the incidences of malnutrition resulting from inadequate protein intake. It is also quite clear that challenges can negatively affect the promotion of edible insect consumption. These challenges need to be addressed before embarking on a campaign to promote consumption of insects.

In general, due considerations should be given to issues of technical and economic feasibility, cost effectiveness and trade-offs; potential for mass production; nutrient composition and nutrient characterization; biosafety and freedom from contamination, proper processing to preserve palatability, shelf life (e.g., fat oxidation), and nutritive characteristics and drying to facilitate grinding and mixing processing and enhance storage; acceptability through legislations and potential use of by-products; ethical issues; and environmental and socio-economic impact on society. To better expand the potential of insects, there is therefore need to develop, fine tune and upscale laboratory and on-farm rearing protocols, identify most abundant, acceptable and cost-effective substrates; conduct feeding trials to validate the insect potential under commercial production settings and finally develop cost effective, optimized diets for on-farm and commercial use in livestock and aquaculture diets. Capacity building of scientists and end users, especially small- and medium-holder farmers in these aspects is critical.

Recommendations for Alternative Insect Protein in Africa

Innovative value-adding approaches in small-scale aquaculture, such as using insects as feed, are required to address the high costs, lack of availability of food and feed in Africa. More sustainable sources of food, such as insects that are rich in animal protein and contribute a smaller carbon footprint, are required to address the shortage of arable land, sustainability issues, and negative impacts from a changing climate.

Domesticating insects for ecologically sustainable large-scale production can create innovative industries and jobs, while addressing sustainable, long-term global bioeconomies. The global market of edible insects is expected to be valued at $8 billion by 2030 (Meticulous Market Research Pvt. Ltd. 2019), with insect farming as feed expected to be valued at $1 billion by 2020 (Binder 2019). African societies and small-to-medium scale agribusinesses are poised to take insect production as feed into the new millennium to solve local, continental, and global food and economic challenges. We recommended that insects as an alternative protein be further explored using empirical research, identifying improvements on animal value chains, and promoted as an opportunity for mentoring vulnerable populations in Africa (e.g., women and youth). Improved livelihoods are expected from implementation of this system of adopting insects as food and feed, as increased diversity from populations afflicted by poverty, poor health, lack of socioeconomic growth potential, and conflict-stricken areas can work in these areas all due to its versatility, low-resource input (capital and materials), and scalability potential.

Insects contain substantial amounts of proteins important to combating malnutrition n Africa. It is important to identify species, geographic, and habitat-specific differences since these factors can impact the nutritional value of the insects, as well as the developmental stage and diet consumed by the insects (Simpson and Raubenheimer 1995). Malnutrition, in all forms, is prevalent throughout Africa, with children under-five being the most affected, and child malnutrition expected to increase by 20% by 2050, with no climate change factored in the models (Akombi et al. 2017). Accessibility to cost-effective, highly-protein insects will help to combat malnutrition, and ultimately improve short- and long-term impacts on livelihoods (e.g., reduced stunting, improved brain cognition, increased longevity). There is need therefore to accordingly address issues which would negatively affect the promotion and accessibility of certain edible insect consumption, as some cultural groups in Africa do not routinely consume insects in their diets. Further, insect production for protein has the potential to lower the environmental impact of conventional agriculture production by recycling organic waste streams (Bosch et al. 2019); thus, it is recommended that comprehensive, long-term environmental impacts be thoroughly assessed in each area farming or intensively harvesting insects as a protein source.

Finally, we urge governments and legislative policy makers around the globe to identify the regulations that are limiting safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly production of proteins through insects. Insects may be part of solution to feeding the world, and it is timely to open channels for dialogue regarding insects as food and feed. Due to the variation of regulations concerning insects as food and feed, it would be ideal to have an open-access routinely updated website available to compile a list of legislation pertinent to edible insects. Together, insect farming has the potential to reduce poverty, enhance food supply, improve health outcomes, and stimulate economic development should continue to be quantitatively assessed as a means to replace proteins that are unsustainable, expensive, and diminishing.

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge financial support from The Michigan State University Alliance for African Partnerships.

References Cited