Drs. Mathilde Miedema
- Developing countries
- Development Cooperation
- Africa
- Bangladesh
- Inclusive Business
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The Flying Food initiative promotes crickets as human food. After setting up a cricket value chain in Kenya and Uganda, other East African countries began to show interest. A feasibility study was recently performed in Burundi. The main conclusion is that Flying Food is technically and economically feasible. A market for cricket products exists and the business will improve food security and income generation for the most vulnerable groups.
The Flying Food concept was tested in Kenya and Uganda over the past five years and is reproducible in other countries and regions. Three partners of Flying Food performed a feasibility study in Burundi and checked both the willingness of consumers to eat crickets and the interest of potential farmers, producers and processors in entering this new value chain. The results of this brief market study were positive:
In this feasibility study, a checklist was used to gather information about the local context. Staff from Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (WFBR) and Fair & Sustainable Consultancy did an additional field study in Burundi. Freeze-dried house crickets were used for consumer testing, having been produced in the Netherlands by Kreca EntoFood B.V. In total, 88 respondents were interviewed: 26 in Bujumbura and 62 in Makamba. Most respondents were between 18 and 45 years of age, with female respondents making up 41%.
Cricket production is largely influenced by temperature and feed. Temperature has the biggest effect on the growth speed of crickets. The ideal temperature for cricket growth lies around 30°C. Three Burundian provinces experience temperatures which should make cricket production possible. Lower temperatures will result in slower growth, which will then negatively affect the business case. Innovation is needed in order to develop low-cost, easy-to-use climate control technology.
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