Abstract
Edible insects have gained popularity as alternative food resources in the face of climate change and increasing carbon and environmental footprints associated with conventional agricultural production. Among the positive attributes that make edible insects suitable as food and feed substrates include rapid reproduction, high energy conversion efficiency, wide distribution, diversity, reduced greenhouses gases and ammonia emissions, possibility to reduce waste and high nutritional composition. In Sub-Saharan Africa, considerable scientific data exist on use of insects as food and livestock feed. However, coherent policies regarding safety, sustainability, trade and regulation of insects as food and animal feed are lacking. The benefits associated with edible insects are likely to accrue in Sub-Saharan Africa through use of a combination of approaches such as ensured sustainable utilization of edible insects in the wild, preservation of traditional conservation, harvesting and consumption practices, development of captive mass production schemes and strengthening robust value chains to incentivise indigenous participants. Collectively these approaches are referred to as the steward and use of insects as food and animal feed. This paper examines the policy frameworks that exist to support the use of edible insects as food and feed on the African continent. This investigation employed a literature review focussing on national policies in selected African countries to assess the relevance to edible insects. Using a baseline of more than 10 edible insect species consumed, 10 country cases in Sub-Saharan Africa were used to support our in-depth examination of the policy situation that may support good stewardship of edible insects as food and feed. Focus on how policies encompassing biodiversity, natural resources, culture, education, research, technology development, trade, health and nutrition and how that could be improved to support inclusivity of edible insects is discussed. We conclude by proposing a pathway that may accelerate recognition and valorisation of edible insects as important food and feed resources in Sub-Saharan Africa including improving policies to support good stewardship of these resources for sustainability.
Highlights
Several studies in the 1970s documented the diversity of edible insect species consumed by indigenous people in different parts of Africa
A number of cases in good stewardship of use of edible insects as food and feed exist in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
These can act as models for scaling up projects/programmes especially when it involves the sustainable utilization of edible insects in the wild
Summary
Several studies in the 1970s documented the diversity of edible insect species consumed by indigenous people in different parts of Africa. This study highlighted minimal existence of legal instruments to consider insects as food, and yet insects have been consumed as food for decades in Africa This conclusion applies to several Sub-Saharan African countries where government legislative frameworks scantly give reference to sustainable utilization of edible insects as a main priority. In south Africa, Baiyegunhi et al [18] and Sekonya et al [19] attribute lack of institutions and laws to regulate use of mopane worms as the major drivers affecting biodiversity This is exacerbated by continuous demand driven harvesting to the detriment of wild populations. Climate change driven environmental shifts demand that we safeguard traditional harvesting and consumption practices of edible insects in several parts of Africa in order to ensure continued availability of these resources for future generations. To the best of our knowledge previous reviews on legislation of the edible insect sector in Africa have mainly interrogated the legal status of insects as food [16] and have not extensively discussed an African integrated system that can facilitate good stewardship in the use of edible insects
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