During the 3rd plenary meeting of NESTLER in Kenya, the partners of the consortium visited the project pilot in Nairobi, on the 26th of September 2023.
The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) is the lead partner regarding the Edible insect farming NESTLER pilot that will be conducted in Kenya. ICIPE’s mission is to help alleviate poverty, ensure food security, and improve the overall health status of peoples of the tropics, by developing and extending management tools and strategies for harmful and useful arthropods, while preserving the natural resource base through research and capacity building. The Centre’s vision is to pioneer global science in entomology, to improve the well-being and resilience of people and the environment to the challenges of a changing world, through innovative and applied research, alongside deep exploratory study, impact assessment, evaluation, and sustainable capacity building.
Insects and other arthropods are the most diverse and abundant forms of life on earth. They are also a paradox within the sustainable growth equation especially in tropical regions such as Africa where, on the one hand, they contribute to developmental stagnation because of their ability to severely reduce the output of humans, animals, and plants. On the other, because of their tremendous biodiversity, insects harbour great potential for development. There is a critical lack of research into large-scale production process to effectively monitor and harvest the insects. The NESTLER consortium will promote the benefits of insect mass production and utilization of insect-based feed towards environmental management and will further contribute to the circular economy to promote wider benefits and impact of insects on plant and human health.
