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“It is edible, so we eat it”: Insect supply and consumption in the central highlands of Madagascar

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Abstract

Entomophagy is a common practice in many parts of Madagascar, but the supply of insects for local consumption has hardly been explored. This study analyses insect harvesting, marketing and consumption in the central highlands of Madagascar. Based on focus group discussions, key informant interviews and interviews on markets, research shows that some insects are highly esteemed by consumers. The main species consumed are wild silkworm chrysalis, locusts, and beetles. The seasonal supply of edible insects does not satisfy the demand of the population. Insects are mostly harvested by villagers for own consumption. Only some species are marketed on the local level, and there are few traders involved. However, at least seasonally, insects seem to be an important food and income source for farmers and urban consumers. As wild harvesting is limited, and even decreased in recent years, shifting from wild gathering to rearing could compensate for this falling trend and offer a higher, more continuous supply of insects in a chronic food insecure region.

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Notes

  1. 4000 Ar equaled 1 € at the time of the study.

  2. Here we refer to the villages where the wild silkworms are collected on a larger scale; not to the five villages visited around Sandrandahy.

  3. Compared to the average income of around 0,50 € per day, the estimated income in Ambohimanjaka would be approx. 67 €/person in one to two months.

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Funding

This article has been written within the ProciNut project at Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, Germany.

ProciNut is financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), based on the decision of the Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany, through the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    J . Dürr, S. Nischalke & I. Wagler

  2. National Research Center for Development of Agriculture (FOFIFA), Antananarivo, Madagascar

    H. Andriamazaoro & N. Randrianarison

  3. Mahidol University, Phutthamonthon, Thailand

    N. Preteseille

  4. University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar

    A. Rabenjanahary, C. Ratompoarison & A. Razafindrakotomamonjy

  5. University of Wageningen, Wageningen, Netherlands

    P. Straub

Authors
  1. J . Dürr
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  2. H. Andriamazaoro
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  3. S. Nischalke
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  4. N. Preteseille
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  5. A. Rabenjanahary
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  6. N. Randrianarison
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  7. C. Ratompoarison
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  8. A. Razafindrakotomamonjy
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  9. P. Straub
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  10. I. Wagler
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Correspondence to J . Dürr.

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Annexes

Annexes

Annex I: Questionnaire for Consumers

  1. 1.

    What are your 3 first staple foods? Which one do you prefer?

  2. 2.

    Where do you get your food from?

  3. 3.

    How much of your income you spend on food?

  4. 4.

    Do you eat insects? Which? How often?

  5. 5.

    How much each time (more/less/equal than plate)?

  6. 6.

    Do you consume insects during the whole year?

  7. 7.

    Which insect do you prefer?

  8. 8.

    Why do you eat insects?

  9. 9.

    Where do you get insects from?

  10. 10.

    Do you know where these insects come from?

  11. 11.

    What are your first 3 words to describe insects?

  12. 12.

    How much insects do you buy? (precise quantity)

  13. 13.

    Did you hear of any health problem related to insect consumption?

Annex II: Questionnaire for Traders

  1. 1.

    Which insects do you buy/sell?

  2. 2.

    Where do you get the insects from?

  3. 3.

    How do you get the insects?

  4. 4.

    How much do you pay per insect?

  5. 5.

    How much do you sell? What frequency?

  6. 6.

    Where do you sell insects?

  7. 7.

    Who are your customers?

  8. 8.

    How do you handle the insects?

  9. 9.

    How do you transport insects?

  10. 10.

    Prices of the insects sold?

  11. 11.

    Are there variations in the price you sell? Why?

  12. 12.

    How do you access information about prices?

  13. 13.

    What is the price trend over last years?

  14. 14.

    What are the quality criteria (variety, color, cleanness, wild harvesting/rearing, others)?

  15. 15.

    What are your main costs?

  16. 16.

    How many people are involved in your business?

  17. 17.

    Who are your competitors? How many are there?

  18. 18.

    Is there market demand for more insects?

  19. 19.

    Do you see a potential for new insect species on the market?

  20. 20.

    Do you think rearing insects is a feasible activity in the region? What is needed to start?

  21. 21.

    What are your major problems related to insect marketing?

  22. 22.

    Which solutions can you imagine?

Annex III: Questionnaire for FGD

Economic aspects and institutional networks of the village

  1. 1.

    How do people make a living in the community?

  2. 2.

    Are there different income sources for different groups?

  3. 3.

    Which crops and animals do you produce for household consumption and for the market?

  4. 4.

    Where and to whom do you sell?

  5. 5.

    How is the price of your products determined?

  6. 6.

    How is the market access for the village?

  7. 7.

    What role do insects play in the community?

  8. 8.

    Do women work outside the house for income?

  9. 9.

    How do you acquire items you need?

  10. 10.

    If you have no money, where can you get money from?

  11. 11.

    Are you in any contractual agreements with land owners or purchasers (i.e., share cropping / contract farming)?

  12. 12.

    What do you do if your harvest fails?

  13. 13.

    What is your vision for your children? Do the children want to take over the farm, why not?

  14. 14.

    Do you have products in common? (tools, lands, reserves?)

  15. 15.

    What are your main sources of diseases?

  16. 16.

    Do you have a phone? (if not, why?)

  17. 17.

    Do you have network? (just for calls or also Internet?)

  18. 18.

    Do you have a mobile money account?

Farming systems and insect collection

  1. 1.

    What are the main crops you plant / livestock you own?

  2. 2.

    What are the main agricultural problems that you face in this community?

  3. 3.

    How could these problems be solved? What hinders you currently to overcome problems?

  4. 4.

    Do you get support from governmental organizations / extension services / NGOs?

  5. 5.

    Have you introduced new agricultural tools, ideas or have you changed the way you do things in the last 10 years?

  6. 6.

    Have you started/stopped planting some crops in the last 10 years?

  7. 7.

    What inputs do you use (fertilizer organic, chemical, pesticides?) For what and how often?

  8. 8.

    What is needed in order to produce more crops on the land you cultivate?

  9. 9.

    What kind of seeds do you use?

  10. 10.

    Where do you get the seeds from?

  11. 11.

    Are there seeds for legumes available? (are they profitable, affordable?)

  12. 12.

    Is wild harvesting of insects a common practice in your community / family?

  13. 13.

    Which are the major insect species you collect?

  14. 14.

    Which insects do you like best? And why?

  15. 15.

    Since when? Why did you start harvesting them?

  16. 16.

    Have you started/stopped harvesting some insects in the last years? Why?

  17. 17.

    Who is harvesting them (men, women, youth)?

  18. 18.

    Where do you harvest these insects?

  19. 19.

    When do you harvest these insects?

  20. 20.

    Why do you harvest insects?

  21. 21.

    Has the harvest of insects increased/decreased in recent years? Why?

  22. 22.

    What are the knowledge and skills needed to harvest/produce insects and how did you get these skills?

  23. 23.

    How much insects do you harvest/produce per season/year (quantities)?

  24. 24.

    Which is the major use of insects (feed/food, consumption/marketing)?

  25. 25.

    How do you process insects?

  26. 26.

    Is there any preservation of insects? For how long can you store insects?

  27. 27.

    Do you know the prices insects are sold on the market? Are they stable?

  28. 28.

    To whom do you sell insects? Where, when, how often, how much?

  29. 29.

    Are there certain qualities of insects preferred by traders/consumers (variety, color, size, etc.)?

  30. 30.

    How are insects transported to market?

  31. 31.

    How much do you earn by selling insects?

  32. 32.

    What are the major constraints related to insect harvesting/production?

  33. 33.

    Would you like to harvest more insects? What hinders you?

  34. 34.

    Would you like to start rearing insects? Which ones? Why?

  35. 35.

    What do you think are the problems and potentials to start rearing insects?

  36. 36.

    Which support would you need from whom to start rearing insects?

Food culture and consumption behavior

  1. 1.

    Have you experienced food shortages? Did you have reserves to address it? How did you manage?

  2. 2.

    What is your preferred ingredient/dish?

  3. 3.

    What food would you like to eat more?

  4. 4.

    What do you think is the best food for your health and why?

  5. 5.

    How do you transform/process/cook food?

  6. 6.

    What are your main consumption practices?

  7. 7.

    What is your food choice criteria?

  8. 8.

    What do you do with food waste?

  9. 9.

    Do you know what the animal diet requirements are?

  10. 10.

    What are the main benefits of edible insects for you?

  11. 11.

    How often do you eat them? In what quantity? What prevents you to eat more?

  12. 12.

    Since how long do you eat insects? What made you start?

  13. 13.

    In what situation do you eat insects? With whom? Where and when (day and year)?

  14. 14.

    What insects do you eat? Why? What is your favorite?

  15. 15.

    With multiple choices of insects available, what is your factor of choice?

  16. 16.

    Do you know where are these insects from, if they are farmed, what stage they are (larvae, chrysalis, adult), how they are killed? If yes precise.

  17. 17.

    Do you store insects at home before and/or after cooking? How?

  18. 18.

    Do you clean insect before cooking? How?

  19. 19.

    How do you cook insects? With what ingredients? Why?

  20. 20.

    Did you ever face any health problem following insect consumption? Have you heard of some? What are the symptoms? Do you have a name for it?

  21. 21.

    What do you think of your need to eat edible insects? Could you do without them?

  22. 22.

    Where, from whom and for how much do you get insects?

  23. 23.

    How much do you buy? How often?

  24. 24.

    How much budget do insects represent for you?

  25. 25.

    Did the price vary much in the last years (of insects)? What are your first factor of choice when buying insects? Quality Criteria?

  26. 26.

    Do you consider insects largely accepted by everyone around you? How do you see it compared to meat?

  27. 27.

    If not, how to convince people to eat more insects?

  28. 28.

    What do you think of the new products which include processed edible insects? (cake, pasta, etc.)

Annex IV: List of KII (in chronological order)

  1. 1.

    Madagascar Biodiversity Center, Antananarivo

  2. 2.

    Regional Direction of Agriculture and Livestock (DRAE), Ambositra

  3. 3.

    Direction de l’Administration Générale du Territoire (DGAT), Ambositra

  4. 4.

    Circonscription de l’Elevage (CIR), Ambositra

  5. 5.

    District bureau of Office National de Nutrition (ONN), Sandrandahy

  6. 6.

    Centre de Service Agricole (CSA), Sandrandahy

  7. 7.

    District bureau of Office National de Nutrition (ONN), Sandrandahy

  8. 8.

    District bureau of Ministère de l’Agriculture et de l’Elevage (MINAE), Sandrandahy

  9. 9.

    Federasiona ny Vehivavy Tantsaha eto Madagasikara (Federation of Women Farmers - FVTM), Sandrandahy

  10. 10.

    Fampandrosoana sy fampivoaran’ny Fiainam-pianakaviana Iarahana Amin-dry Masera (Work of development and the evolution of the family - FAFIAM, Sandrandahy

  11. 11.

    Conseil Agricole de Proximité (CAP Malagasy), Sandrandahy

  12. 12.

    NGO Vovonana Santatra, Sandrandahy

  13. 13.

    Chiefs of villages (Fokontany), Sandrandahy

  14. 14.

    Sahalandy silk association, Sandrandahy

  15. 15.

    Regional bureau of Office National de Nutrition (ONN), Ambositra

  16. 16.

    Centre Séricicole Soalandy (silk worm breeding association), Ambositra

  17. 17.

    NGO Tanintsika (wild silk worm conservation), Ambositra

  18. 18.

    Projet Appui au Renforcement des Organisations Professionnelles et aux Services Agricoles (AROPA), Ambositra

  19. 19.

    NGO Tanintsika (breeding centre), Ambohimanjaka

  20. 20.

    Insect start-up “Concept Mihary”, Antananarivo

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Dürr, J..., Andriamazaoro, H., Nischalke, S. et al. “It is edible, so we eat it”: Insect supply and consumption in the central highlands of Madagascar. Int J Trop Insect Sci 40, 167–179 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-019-00067-w

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