Did you know that insects and caterpillars are also food for human? My grandmother once told me “anything birds eat, human can eats! “According to Christian Ratompoarison and others findings, there are about 65 edible insects identified in Madagascar. Strange?
Insects and caterpillars were considered as food for poor households or communities during the famines. Surprisingly, the trend is now changing worldwide. In Tropentag 2019, number of researchers presented their research findings about edible insects and caterpillars in Africa and Asia. Edible insects and caterpillars form sustainable ecosystem between environments and nutrition. Case studies from Madagascar, Myanmar, Kenya and Uganda were presented during the poster sessions in Tropentag 2019.
Immaculate N. Maina- County Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Nakuru County, Kenya was among the keynote speaker who gave a great speech on Scientific knowledge transfer and the Science-Policy Interface: Bridging the Gaps and Overcoming the Traps ” Scientists need opportunities to engage with policy makers. For instance, the Tropentag conference could be one of the platforms. Having open dialogues can enhance the knowledge hence understanding in the policymaking process. The academic research findings are to be consumables to the community not just end in conferences and publications.” - Immaculate N. Maina
Surprisingly, legumes are imported from Canada to Algeria! The similar trend had been observed in Morocco. Algeria's and Morocco’s main crops are cereals, mainly wheat and barley. Why not crop rotation? It's possible past crop failure due to diseases and pests and labour demand could be the traps for this trend in Algeria and Morocco. However, more evidence is needed.