Promoting edible insects in Kenya: historical, present and future perspectives towards establishment of a sustainable value chain

This paper discusses the current state and priorities of Kenya-based research and innovations on insects as food and feed with a view to establishing a vibrant insects’ value chain. The paper is divided into sections that focus on historical insect consumption, farming, utilisation and entrepreneurial priorities. The paper also introduces a new quadrat model for utilisation of edible insects which shows an interrelationship between edible insects, crops, animals and humans. The paper attempts to identify attempts on identifying social and psychological barriers to insects’ acceptance as food and feed since insects are intimately connected to strong cultural and regional values. We conclude with recommendations about the future priorities of edible insect field which include: tracking of production volumes, new innovations to support automation and industrial production, research on consumer attitudes and behaviour that is culturally sensitive, systematic, and large-scale; enactment of national and regional regulations to support the industry and unequivocal acknowledgment of the impacts of developments in the edible insect industry to national and regional development.