A transformative poultry feed system: The impact of insects as an alternative and transformative poultry-based diet in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Abstract There is growing interest in the transformation of costly, unsustainable feed systems to help address malnutrition and food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In the poultry production industry, dietary insect meals were identified as a possible solution to aid in transforming poultry feeds by replacing expensive and environmentally threatening protein feed ingredients including soyabean and fish meal. Hence, playing an important role in helping to feed the ever-growing human population size through the production of more poultry meat and meat products. The potential of edible insects as highly nutritious, cost-effective, and biofriendly alternative protein feed ingredient in poultry diets is currently one of the most trending topics in animal nutrition worldwide. This review will provide a recent overview of the utilisation of insect-based diets by poultry-producing farmers in SSA, to improve poultry production at low costs with little effect on climate change. Therefore, the perspectives of various farmers towards using insect-based diets in poultry production; recent findings on the effect of insect-based diets on poultry production and performance; benefits of insect-based poultry meat; adoption and awareness of insect farming; and opportunities and constrains of rearing insects for animal feeding in SSA were discussed. Hence, there is still a need to improve insect farming infrastructure, educating and training insect and poultry-producing farmers on insect rearing and marketing, enforcing laws and policies on insect farming operation, investing and conducting more research on local insects in poultry diets, as well as conserving wild insects and the environment in general.