The International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) is a Nairobi-based research institute working to advance the role of insects in creating environmentally and socially sustainable food systems across Africa.
Founded in 1970, icipe aims to understand how to most effectively introduce insects throughout the food system. They recognize the value of insects in agricultural environments and their potential to be used as a primary ingredient in consumer products.
Ichpe’s executive director, Abdou Tenkouano, sees insects and food as interconnected: “Food is produced in fields,” he tells Food Tank, “where you find a diversity of organisms, including insects, that are part of the production landscape.”
Insects also have a broader contribution to making a circular economy, an economic system that maximizes resource use while minimizing waste: insects can be used to “recycle organic waste”. [into fertilizer]”Eating insects reduces environmental pollution and produces abundant biomass,” Chrysanthus Tonga, lead scientist for icipe’s Insects for Food, Feed and Other Uses program, told Food Tank.
Tonga says insects help reduce the number of inputs typically needed in food production. They cut composting time, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and require very little water to breed, he explains. These attributes often make insects an ideal protein replacement for soy, corn and fishmeal in animal feed.
There is also growing interest in incorporating more insects into the human diet, “because they are rich sources of vitamin B12, iron, zinc, dietary fiber, essential amino acids, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and antioxidants,” the researchers wrote in a study published in the Review of Food Science and Nutrition. “Ultimately, insects could be used as meat substitutes and dietary supplements.”
But despite their many benefits, Icipe has found that social stigma makes it difficult for insects to be accepted as food.
Tonga suggests masking methods to overcome this challenge, making the insects in consumer products less detectable to the senses: “We’ve found that developing market-driven, consumer-friendly, familiar products leads to broad acceptance.”
Tenkouano cited crickets as an insect-based protein alternative that is “highly in demand” for human food. He said research conducted by Ichpe’s Insects for Food, Feed and Other Uses program “has shown that crickets are a valuable source of protein for many years.” [insects] “If you mix it into a type of flour used to make biscuits and cakes, it becomes more socially acceptable.”
icipe’s work also involves sustainable pest control practices. The group aims to minimize crop damage and disease spread caused by invasive species, “ensuring natural solutions to prevent widespread spread of invasive species,” Tenkouano says. One example is the group’s push-pull method, which involves growing crops alongside plants that naturally repel pests, trapping them and protecting farms from invasive insects like locusts and armyworms.
icipe hopes that their research will help expand the market for insects, create more economic opportunities, and make people in sub-Saharan Africa safer, especially young people and women.
As the effects of the climate crisis unfold, time pressures pose one of the biggest threats to efforts to address Ichipe’s challenges. With soil degradation on the rise and environmental conditions becoming increasingly challenging, Tonga stresses the responsibility to consider the well-being of vulnerable communities in planning, stating that “we need urgent solutions, but we need solutions that are environmentally friendly and developmentally acceptable to all.”
But icipe is responding: “Being vigilant, proactive, and having a certain level of foresight is what gives icipe a competitive advantage over many other organizations,” says Tenkouano, who expects that under his leadership, insect technology will continue to elevate its place in the global conversation about food system sustainability.
“There are patterns from the research being done in Kenya that are being applied in Europe. [insect technology] “There’s a wide range of applications,” Tenkouano told Food Tank, “and this is an international arena for us as we think about the future of using insects for food.”
Articles like the one you just read are made possible by the generous support of Food Tank members. Join our growing work by clicking here to become a member today.
Photo by Krzysztof Niewolny on Unsplash
