African indigenous knowledge on edible insects to guide research and policy

Entomophagy is an ancient practice viewed as a potential solution to food security and sustainable ecosystem management in Africa. However, its expansion is challenged by several factors including acculturation, urbanisation and lack of information. Knowledge on indigenous practices can contribute to refining ongoing research activities and stimulate the development of adequate technologies to guide research, business and policy in entomophagy. We documented indigenous practices using outcomes of an online survey conducted between 2013 and 2015 and intensive literature crowd sourcing. Edible insects are mainly collected from wild harvesting using different methods. Although respondents acknowledged the existence of rearing technologies, no comprehensive procedure was described. We found that after collection, the processing techniques for either consumption or commercialisation varied. Our survey revealed that sun drying was the most commonly used processing technique probably because it does not require much input as compared to frying, boiling or roasting. Processing techniques such as boiling seem not only to reduce the amounts of toxic phytochemicals found on insects but also to eliminate some pathogens which can contaminate the insects during collection. To improve shelf life, certain additives such as salt, palm oil or pure honey were used to preserve the dried insects. The findings from this study are discussed from research policy and business perspective.