Introducing rearing crickets (gryllids) at household levels: adoption, processing and nutritional values

Abstract

Edible insects, particularly crickets, are becoming popular due to their nutritional value and efficiency in foodconversion. An increasing number of farmers in Kenya are seeking information on rearing crickets (Orthoptera:Gryllidae) for food and feed. The locals are gradually embracing Acheta domesticus and Gryllus bimiculatus as the species of choice. This paper discusses how cricket farming was introduced to farmers in Bondo and Kabondo in Kenya. The initial crickets were picked from their natural habitat and carefully selected for domestication. Theselected crickets were fed on vegetables and chicken mash and bulked in plastic cages. The insects were carefully nurtured to lay eggs and a large colony was formed for multiplication purposes. Upon maturity, proximate analysiswas done to determine their nutritional value. Some were processed into different dishes for human consumption. Products were subjected to microbial tests at the Kenya Bureau of Standards to verify safety for human consumption. Consumers were invited to taste the processed products. After 3 years into the project, about 50 farmers haveembraced cricket farming around the Lake Victoria region. A. domesticus proved easy for rearing at household levelconditions. Food nutrients identified on dry weight were: 47% protein, 10% carbohydrates, and 25% fat. Minerals included sodium (8,502 µg/g), copper (29.4 µg/g), calcium (3,147.7 µg/g), potassium (9,797.5 µg/g), iron (51.8 µg/g), phosphorus (331.3 µg/g), manganese (58.7 µg/g) and zinc (21.8 µg/g). Vitamins included vitamin A (retinol; 0.35 µg/g), vitamin B2 (riboflavin; 6.3 µg/g), vitamin B1 (thiamine; 15.2 µg/g), and vitamin E (331 µg/g). Children were particularly attracted to biscuits and the fried foods such as fritters, samosa and pancakes. Cricket farming can be embraced as a mini-livestock by farmers in varied agro-ecological conditions in the lake region in Kenya. However, increased consumption of crickets to ensure food security is yet to be observed.

Edible Insects Processing: Traditional and Innovative Technologies

“…Crickets have been used to formulate cookies with amaranth, rice, oatmeal, chocolate chips, butter, walnuts, and so on. (Ayieko, Ogola, & Ayieko, ; Ryu, Shin, Kim, & Kim, ) and these products are well accepted by children (Ayieko et al., ).…”

Linking Consumers’ Food Choice Motives to their Preferences for Insect‐based Food Products: An Application of Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Model in an African Context

“…The increasing interest in utilising insects as food in the world prompted the idea of insect production for human consumption in Kenya. Cricket production is becoming popular among some small-scale farmers and business practitioners in Kenya, as it constitutes a source of important nutrients, and due to the ease of rearing and handling them during production (Ayieko et al, 2016). Crickets can be consumed whole or as flour (ground) forms.…”

Consumer attitudes toward entomophagy before and after evaluating cricket (Acheta domesticus)‐based protein powders

“…Many benefits have been linked to the consumption of insects; they provide a large amount of energy (fats and proteins) and have lower requirements for land and water than farm animals (Ayieko, Ogola, & Ayieko, 2016;Rumpold & Schlüter, 2013;van Huis et al, 2013). Insects also have high fecundity, only need a small production space, and create a low amount of greenhouse gas emissions during production (Caparros Megido, Gierts et al, 2016;Lammers, Ullmann, & Fiebelkorn, 2019).…”