[ARABNEWS] There is no shortage of protein in Kinshasa's Gambela Market, from cows to antelope and snakes. But it is the blue and silver bowls brimming with twitching crickets, termites and slithering mealworms that do the briskest trade.Experts hope that the love of edible insects in Democratic Republic of the Congo
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka
Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material...
may hold the key to tackling widespread hunger among its roughly 65 million people by scaling up a millennia-old consumption habit.
Six-and-a-half million people live in food insecurity in the giant central African country, according to the World Food Program (WFP), largely due to low agricultural productivity and persistent violence in its volatile east.
Edible insects, which are just starting to win acceptance in the West, have long been one of Congo's most popular dishes. Often served as bar food or on special occasions, they are grilled and commonly served with hot pepper, lemon and onions.
"This is the main food of Congolese," said Marie-Colette Bena, who sells clothing at the market, "I'm proud to eat that food." The average household in the capital Kinshasa consumes about 300 grams of caterpillar a week, according to a UN study but insect supplies can be seasonal and are generally more expensive than other types of food. In Kinshasa a kg of crickets costs about $50, more than twice the price of beef.
Congo's Environment Ministry and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hope to capitalize on Congo's affinity for the crunchy fare with a new programme to promote insect cultivation, a plan that could make them more widely available and bring down prices.