Abstract
Termites are commonly used by smallholder farmers in West Africa to feed their poultry. A survey was carried out among poultry farmers in Burkina Faso to gather knowledge on the traditional methods used to obtain termites for poultry feed, to assess which termite genera are collected with which techniques and evaluate prospects for optimising and improving the collection and trapping methods. Data were collected among 1100 poultry farmers in eight regions of Burkina Faso on the harvesting techniques, the termite species and their local names as well as on the use of residues. After the interviews, termite samples were collected with the farmers and identified in the laboratory. At least five termite species were found. Species of the genera Odontotermes, Trinervitermes and Macrotermes are commonly given to chickens and guinea fowls whereas a Cubitermes species is sometimes used to feed guinea fowls. Two categories of methods are used to obtain termites, the direct collection by breaking termite mounds and the trapping of termites in containers filled with organic matters. The harvesting method varies with the termite genus, the region and the season. Different techniques with various types of containers and organic matters are used in the country and these techniques should be tested and compared to recommend the most efficient ones. The enhancement of termite trapping methods and their integration in poultry feed have the potential to significantly improve traditional poultry farming in Burkina Faso.
Highlights
Insects are eaten, at least occasionally, by two billion people on earth (Van Huis et al 2013; Meyer-Rochow and Chakravorty 2013)
This paper describes the answers that were given to the questions on the present practices to gather termites for poultry feed (Table 1)
This study allowed us to highlight and describe traditional activities related to the use of termites as poultry feed in rural communities in Burkina Faso
Summary
At least occasionally, by two billion people on earth (Van Huis et al 2013; Meyer-Rochow and Chakravorty 2013). Termites are nutritive and, in Africa, they are among the most consumed insects (Kinyuru et al 2009; Lavalette 2013). They are traditionally used to feed poultry in many West African countries such as Togo, Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso, in particular in smallholder farming systems in which farmers hold a few scavenging chickens and guinea fowls (Hardouin 2003; Chrysostome et al 2009; Diawara 2013; Sankara et al 2018; Boafo et al 2019). The development of sustainable methods to collect, harvest and store termites is needed to ensure that traditional poultry farmers can provide protein feed to their birds without affecting the environment and local biodiversity (Dao 2016; Ouedraogo 2016; Boafo et al 2019).
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