INSECT FARMING’S ECONOMIC BENEFITS This section looks at the prices and profitability of the insect farming sector. Forty-four percent of the surveyed farmers said income generation was why they started raising insects. A Malagasy farmer said, “[Silkworm farming] is important for us because it allows us to cover our needs during the lean season.” This section finds that the insect industry is growing because of its profitability, especially for small-scale farmers. Prices remain high, but they will decline as the industry matures. As a result, insect farming is a new industry with promising economic potential in Africa. Profitability Insect farming can be a very profitable agricultural activity for small-scale farmers. In Cameroon, the average income of formal African palm weevil larvae collectors varied between US$180 and US$600 per month, which was 30 to 75 percent of their household income (Muafor et al. 2015). Palm weevil incomes were higher than bushmeat hunting incomes. Incomes from palm weevil sales were also significantly higher than the incomes of unskilled workers or rural coffee producers (Muafor et al. 2015). In Ghana, economic viability analyses show that African palm weevil farmers could pay back their initial capital investment in weevil farming in 127 days. This requires selling 3,020 weevil larvae at US$0.06 per larva. In a year, a farmer could have three production cycles and generate total revenue of US$553, which would require selling 755 larvae per month. This would produce a net cash availability of US$265.25 and a net profit of US$82.16 in the first year of production. In Côte d’Ivoire, vendors of wild, unfarmed insects have an estimated average monthly income of US$98.50 (Ehounou, Ouali-N’goran, and Niassy 2018). In Thailand, smallscale cricket farming has diversified rural household incomes, and the average incomes can be significantly more than those from other agricultural activities, especially in the northeastern part of the country (Halloran, Roos, and Hanboonsong 2017). Contract farmers working for one of Thailand’s largest cricket companies earn profits of US$1,950 per year, which is higher than other agricultural work. Independent cricket farmers earn similar profits (table 3.12). In Korea, insect farming revenues vary greatly among insect species but are much higher than minimum wage earnings, which were US$7 per hour in 2020 (table 3.13). The research team’s informal conversations with rural residents in Thailand and Korea suggest that insect farming can be an attractive livelihood for urban dwellers wishing to return to the countryside. There are other profitable livelihoods associated with insect farming, for example, consultants who train and provide technical assistance to farmers or insect production companies. A Ghanaian farmer said, “Insect farming serves as a secondary income generation activity for me. Consulting on insect farming alone gives me almost half of my annual salary as a government employee.” Tourism associated with insect farming has taken place in some areas as well. In Thailand, for example, tourist maps guide visitors to cricket farming areas and Understanding Insect Farming
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