Fried termite

A Canadian based Veterinarians without Borders have launched a pilot project to empower farmers to harvest edible insects in rural parts of South Sudan.

The ten months pilot project known as Edible Insect Farming which is worth $190,000 is expected to benefit insect farmers in rural parts of Eastern Equatoria and Jonglei states.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, insects form part of the traditional diets for at least 2 billion people around the World.

The agency stated that the insects have a highly nutritious and healthy food source with high fat, protein, vitamin, fiber and mineral content.

John Gaaniko, the Country Director of Veterinarians without Borders told Eye Radio yesterday [Thursday] that the project will help the farmers use new harvesting techniques for commercial and family consumption.

“The difference here is that in the past farmers were harvesting insects using the traditional way and in the traditional way they collect only a few insects so that is only for edible purposes,” Gaaniko told Eye Radio.

“We are coming with a new intervention, new techniques. We are going to train them [farmers] using the bucket system, concert pen system in order to collect big quantities they can use for both consumption and even for selling.”

There are more than 1,900 edible insect species categorized into Coleoptera or beetles, Lepidoptera consists of butterflies and moths.

Others include Hymenoptera composed of bees, wasps and ants while Orthoptera consisting of grasshoppers and crickets as well as Isoptera or termites among others.

FAO reports that about 250 insect species are consumed in Africa, 549 in Mexico, 180 in China.

Veterinarians Without Borders – Canada in the previous years has implemented insect farming in Kenya, Uganda and in Southeast Asia.

In South Sudan, the program aims to mitigate the effects of malnutrition and gender-related challenges through the production and marketing of edible insects.

The project focuses on capacity building for target groups in appropriate insect rearing production techniques, insect farming and consumption, dietary benefits, insect food preparation, processing for value addition, and business and entrepreneurship.