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With many households reliant on Madagascar’s biodiversity for nutrition, the establishment of insects as a sustainable food source also has the potential to decrease reliance on bushmeat and other natural resources that can contribute to species conservation efforts 3. The farming of insects also uses less land than livestock and can be cultivated on small plots, reducing habitat loss and providing a cheaper and more sustainable source of animal protein 2. In fact, these bugs have many other benefits in addition to being incredibly tasty! In comparison to livestock, insect farming has been shown to be a more sustainable option in providing nutrients in the human diet, releasing fewer greenhouse gas emissions whilst requiring less resources to produce the equivalent amount of meat 1. Well, while Western attitudes towards eating insects are largely unfavourable, there are not the same negative associations with the practice in Madagascar. Following the establishment of the initial colony, and with continual maintenance of host plants, both the beans and insect colonies have the potential to remain harvestable indefinitely, with the potential to generate household income through the sale of excess beans and bugs. But there’s more-in addition to attracting the bugs, the host plant is also an edible bean species, which can further increase households’ dietary diversity as a source of pulses. The bugs later establish colonies which are then harvestable, providing a high forest-derived source of calories, fats, and micro-nutrients once cooked. The antaky plant then attracts the sakondry, who arrive six to eight weeks after the seeds have been planted. In order for communities to farm the insects, households are first supported to grow a host plant known locally as antaky. Traditionally eaten in Madagascar, the sakondry bugs are tropical plant hoppers found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Named after the bugs themselves, Project Sakondry aims to increase food availability and contribute to malnutrition alleviation across five rural communities in the Anosy region.
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In this week’s blog we learn about Project Sakondry and how, through edible insect farming, SEED aims to improve food security and livelihood opportunities for communities across Anosy, building agricultural capacity to combat food insecurity in the long term. Whilst SEED continues to respond to food insecurity in the south with emergency food distribution, these measures are a vital but temporary solution to a problem set to worsen, with climate change already drastically changing Madagascar’s agricultural landscape. For those in Madagascar’s Deep South who have been severely impacted by the effects of the current drought (the worst since 1981), low agricultural productivity, and the difficulties of COVID-19, the farming of these insects provides an opportunity to improve food security and dietary diversity. Since partnering with Dr Cortni Borgerson at the start of the year, SEED has become very excited about these bacon flavoured bugs after discovering that sakondry can provide a sustainable and nutrient-rich source of protein in the human diet. We’ve all heard the old folktale of Jack and the Beanstalk but what does this fictional story have in common with SEED’s new sustainable livelihoods project, Project Sakondry? Well, Madagascar has some magic beans of its own, but this time what can be found at the top of the beanstalk is the edible Z anna tenebrosa insect, known locally as sakondry.