include premium priced products, such as insects reared on substrates from certified organic crops or other high-value inputs. Eventually, commercial producers in Africa will need to comply with the same regulatory standards as those in the EU and US markets. For example, all edible insect substrates must be preconsumer, meaning no postconsumer waste can be included in the substrate. These quality standards will result in a steady rise in the unit cost of commercial production, possibly to the point at which commercial producer product prices equal rural producer prices. Market segmentation may eventually affect insect prices and production schemes in rural areas. Africa’s poor transportation infrastructure to rural communities will limit commercial producers’ ability to reach rural consumers. In response, commercial producers are likely to acquire or partner with successful small-scale, rural producers and introduce capital, information, and technology to rural producers. This would bring down the unit cost of insects and insect products in rural markets. Since rural consumers are typically poorer and, therefore, price sensitive, a slight reduction in insect prices would likely displace some small-scale community insect production systems. In this scenario, an out-grower scheme may develop whereby the small-scale farmer subcontracts displaced rural farmers to rear insects (figure 4.7). The displacement of small-scale producers would not necessarily end household insect production, which is used primarily for home-based insect consumption and not for selling. EDIBLE INSECT PRODUCTION SYSTEMS This section describes the production systems for houseflies, crickets, mealworms, silkworm chrysalids, palm weevil larvae, and BSF. Houseflies Houseflies have a short and simple production cycle. The housefly (Musca domestica, L. (Diptera: Muscidae)) is found everywhere in the world that humans settle (van Huis et al. 2020). Adult females lay their eggs in moist, nutrient-rich environments—such as food waste and manure—and can lay up to 500 eggs in their lifetime. One must only leave substrates open and wild houseflies will naturally lay their eggs there. The 3- to 9-millimeter larvae (maggots) hatch within 8 to 20 hours and feed immediately on the substrate on which the eggs were laid. Larvae go through three instar stages over three to five days and then pupate. After two to six days, pupae develop and emerge as adults. The housefly’s adult life stage lasts up to 25 days. The housefly has a short larval growth phase and a long adult phase during which it actively feeds. This contrasts with the BSF, which has a short adult phase during which it does not feed and consumes only small amounts of water. Houseflies are disease vectors, so housefly mass rearing structures must follow correct procedures to ensure that the flies are well-contained.
Mainstreaming Insect Farming
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