How to turn collectors of edible insects into mini-livestock farmers: Multidimensional sustainability challenges to a thriving industry

Abstract

Edible insects reared under suitable climatic conditions are an efficient and ecological food source. However, most of the insects come from wild collection and not from farms (FAO, 2013). To establish insects as part of a sustainable food environment, collectors, farmers or small entrepreneurs need to be transformed into mini-livestock farmers, but people who eat or collect insects do not necessarily want to rear them. This paper presents four case studies from Kenya, Madagascar, Myanmar and Thailand, which are in different stages of sector development to show pathways for establishing insect rearing, and the associated economic, resource/ecological and social challenges and opportunities that emerged. The aim is to inform the global debate towards establishment of a sustainable mini-livestock sector.