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The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa

Edible insects are an important natural commodity in rural areas that is used for household consumption and to generate income through trade. As a result, edible-insect trading is a profitable business that provides employment and improves the livelihoods of impoverished rural people. This study aim...

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Autores principales: Hlongwane, Zabentungwa T., Slotow, Rob, Munyai, Thinandavha C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7615094/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37720255
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/resources10120123
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author Hlongwane, Zabentungwa T.
Slotow, Rob
Munyai, Thinandavha C.
author_facet Hlongwane, Zabentungwa T.
Slotow, Rob
Munyai, Thinandavha C.
author_sort Hlongwane, Zabentungwa T.
collection PubMed
description Edible insects are an important natural commodity in rural areas that is used for household consumption and to generate income through trade. As a result, edible-insect trading is a profitable business that provides employment and improves the livelihoods of impoverished rural people. This study aimed at determining the socioeconomic benefits of and reasons for trading insects, and to assess if edible insects are included in economic development strategies in the Vhembe district of Limpopo province, South Africa. We conducted 72 questionnaire interviews targeting traders in 5 towns across the district. Five insect groups belonging to four insect orders are traded in informal markets of the district. Mopane worms (Gonimbrasia belina) were the most traded (42%) edible insects. Unemployment (45%) and the demand for edible insects (34%) were the major reasons for trading insects. Insect trading has numerous benefits; however, the provision of income (60%) and financial support (35%) were stated as the primary benefits. Despite several benefits associated with trading in insects, there are many challenges such as insect spoilage and a decline in the availability of edible insects in the wild. Edible insects play an important role in food security and the rural economy by generating employment opportunities for unemployed traders. Trading in insects is a traditional practice based on indigenous knowledge, which has persisted as an economic practice that improves rural livelihoods by reducing poverty and increases the human dignity of rural citizens. Only four governmental organisations in Limpopo included edible insects in economic development strategies. Trading insects is primarily an informal activity. The government could stimulate the activity and broaden and deepen the community benefits by providing infrastructure, access to harvest areas, financial support, and business training as part of a rural empowerment strategy to end hunger and poverty while creating employment opportunities in rural areas.
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spelling pubmed-76150942023-09-15 The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa Hlongwane, Zabentungwa T. Slotow, Rob Munyai, Thinandavha C. Resources (Basel) Article Edible insects are an important natural commodity in rural areas that is used for household consumption and to generate income through trade. As a result, edible-insect trading is a profitable business that provides employment and improves the livelihoods of impoverished rural people. This study aimed at determining the socioeconomic benefits of and reasons for trading insects, and to assess if edible insects are included in economic development strategies in the Vhembe district of Limpopo province, South Africa. We conducted 72 questionnaire interviews targeting traders in 5 towns across the district. Five insect groups belonging to four insect orders are traded in informal markets of the district. Mopane worms (Gonimbrasia belina) were the most traded (42%) edible insects. Unemployment (45%) and the demand for edible insects (34%) were the major reasons for trading insects. Insect trading has numerous benefits; however, the provision of income (60%) and financial support (35%) were stated as the primary benefits. Despite several benefits associated with trading in insects, there are many challenges such as insect spoilage and a decline in the availability of edible insects in the wild. Edible insects play an important role in food security and the rural economy by generating employment opportunities for unemployed traders. Trading in insects is a traditional practice based on indigenous knowledge, which has persisted as an economic practice that improves rural livelihoods by reducing poverty and increases the human dignity of rural citizens. Only four governmental organisations in Limpopo included edible insects in economic development strategies. Trading insects is primarily an informal activity. The government could stimulate the activity and broaden and deepen the community benefits by providing infrastructure, access to harvest areas, financial support, and business training as part of a rural empowerment strategy to end hunger and poverty while creating employment opportunities in rural areas. 2021-12-07 /pmc/articles/PMC7615094/ /pubmed/37720255 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/resources10120123 Text en https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This work is licensed under a BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) International license.
spellingShingle Article
Hlongwane, Zabentungwa T.
Slotow, Rob
Munyai, Thinandavha C.
The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa
title The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa
title_full The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa
title_fullStr The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa
title_short The Role of Edible Insects in Rural Livelihoods, and Identified Challenges in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa
title_sort role of edible insects in rural livelihoods, and identified challenges in vhembe district, limpopo, south africa
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7615094/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37720255
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/resources10120123
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