Up -scaling mass-rearing of edible grasshopper and edible cricket species (Acheta domesticus and Scapsipedus icipe) for improved food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture in northern Uganda (MASEDIN)

Summary

The traditional agriculture in northern Uganda is characterized by low production and productivity that does not meet the nutrition needs of the growing human population. Many farming households operate on small pieces of land for agriculture. Consumed food is nutritionally imbalanced, the production systems are not diversified, access to nutritious, high protein foods such as meat and eggs are either inaccessible to most people or too expensive to import from abroad and food production systems are not sustainable in the long term. Communities face considerable challenges in achieving self-reliance and have limited livelihood options leading to food insecurity and malnutrition. Edible insects are a valued and culturally accepted source of food in this region, but currently, they are only wild-harvested due to limited knowledge on how to farm them. This project aims 1) to improve resilience in communities in northern Uganda by developing efficient and sustainable technologies for mass rearing of highly nutritious and sustainable protein-rich edible grasshopper, Ruspolia differens and edible cricket species (Acheta domesticus and Scapsipedus icipe Hugel & Tanga, 2018), and 2) to build capacity of researchers at Gulu University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology in edible insect production.

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