Lakhasly

The book has a total of twenty two chapters covering
commonly consumed African edible insects and their
nutritional composition, history and economic importance.
The book is edited by a scientist and expert in food
science and technology, oil chemistry, functional foods
and bioactive compounds. To support the discussions in
the chapters, the authors have used tables, figures and
photos. The book delves directly into chapter one and lacks
a preface by the editor introducing the contents of the book.
The first chapter of the book discusses the importance of
insects as food in Africa. This chapter delineates major
insects harvested for food in Africa and the opportunities
for semi-domestication and full domestication of edible
insects such as palm weevil and crickets, respectively. The
author indicates that 472 insect species are consumed in
Africa with caterpillars, locust, grasshoppers and crickets
leading in consumption, while termites are largest in
diversity. The author, however, notes that several locusts
and grasshopper species and the fall armyworm being
consumed as food are equally very destructive pests.
The author further discusses edible insects’ economic
importance, their contribution to food security, insects as
feed ingredient, farming systems, nutritional components,
processing (largely by drying, frying, smoking, boiling)
and marketing.
The second chapter focuses on African edible insect
consumption market. The authors define insect
consumption as the business of promoting, producing,
buying and selling edible insects and their products and
other beneficial services obtained from insects. Preservation
of natural habitats is key while mass rearing appears
promising in production. The insect market groups the
insects according to kind, product type and use. Similar to
the previous chapter, the species, consumption and diversity
of edible insects’ in Africa have been discussed. The authors
note that value and pricing of insects fluctuate based on
several factors such as harvesting season, consumer’s
attitude, time spent harvesting, insect type and location.
However, a rising trend in the value of the insects trade
was noted. This chapter further discusses the edible insect
value chain such as input supply, production, processing,
marketing and consumption. Activities and challenges as
well as female or male participation in each step of value
chain have been discussed. The chapter, however, does not
capture service provision such as transportation, credit,
and training along the value chain. The authors conclude
by noting that the supply of insects is low compared to the
high demand and thus an equilibrium needs to be reached
through increased production awareness creation and
marketing