New on plate: Biscuits made from crickets

Researcher Jackline Oloo with fried crickets in Bondo. TOM OTIENO | NATION

What you need to know:

  • The university has put the farmers in groups of 50. Each group rears the crickets, dries them and later uses them to make muffins, biscuits, crackers and sausages.
  • The insects can also be fried, crushed and the powder mixed with amaranth flour to increase nutritional value. The flour can be used to make dough for baking.

Prof Monica Ayieko sits calmly in her office at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) in Siaya County waiting for her next lecture.

She keeps on checking her watch as she answers questions from Seeds of Gold, relating to her love for insects.

Her area of specialisation is edible insects, specifically termites and crickets, and for the past 13 years, she has been doing research on them and others with an aim of increasing food production.

“People are becoming cautious about animal protein, that is why we scientists are shifting focus to insect-rearing to provide alternative source of proteins,” says the professor of Consumer Economics, Department of Food Security.

Prof Ayieko has done research on production of termites, lake flies, locusts and black ants. Her recent research is on cricket-rearing, which she says has a sustainable production.

Crickets are brownish black insects. They have round heads, long and thin antennae and their wings turn down on the sides of their bodies. They live in the soil and hide under dead plants and bushes.

She started the project in 2012 after a thorough research that included their nutritional components and value addition aspects.

According to the lecturer, crickets, which have been proved to contain a concentrated protein, can be processed into muffins, biscuits, sausages, meat loafs, porridge and chapati.

With her undergraduate students, Prof Ayieko says she went to a bush near the university in search of crickets.

“We trapped 30 crickets after a three-hour expedition,” she says. They then put the crickets in a glass cage to observe their behaviour.

“After putting a cotton roll moistened with water, we realised that they could survive outside their habitat. The crickets started reproducing small, yellow and cylindrical eggs, which hatched to produce pin heads (baby crickets),” recalls Jackline Oloo, a student researcher.

Prof Ayieko says they harvested 20kg of crickets, which were distributed to farmers in Siaya and Homa Bay counties.

Currently, there are a total of 561 farmers who are rearing crickets in counties in Nyanza. Also on board are some 25 farmers in Bomet, who were recently trained on the same project by the university.

“Our role as the university is to research and disseminate knowledge on how we can improve food security by embracing edible insects.”

Following successful research, JOOUST through Prof Ayieko received a funding of Sh450,000 from an organisation in Netherlands to expand cricket production.

With the funding, they bought 100ml buckets for farmers to rear the crickets. Each bucket retails at Sh1,200.

MAKE MUFFINS, BISCUITS, SAUSAGES

The university has put the farmers in groups of 50. Each group rears the crickets, dries them and later uses them to make muffins, biscuits, crackers and sausages.

Japheth Alula, a beneficiary of the project, says he now supplements maize farming with crickets to improve his income.

“Crickets reproduce fast. If you keep them in a warm place and provide them with water and vegetables, you are certain of better returns after a week,” says Alula.

Every week, he harvests between 15 to 20kg of the insects. A kilo of cricket goes for Sh500 and a petri dish of cricket goes for Sh200.
He sells his products to households, retail shops and supermarkets in Nyanza.

Prof Ayieko, who is currently researching on large-scale production of crickets, says the insects are rich in iron, zinc and copper. 

She is also working with two doctorate students who have secured Sh24 million to do research on the viability of crickets for commercial farming.

To make cricket biscuits, mix cricket flour, baking powder, salt, margarine and sugar until it becomes creamy. Thereafter cut the dough into small pieces and bake.

The insects can also be fried, crushed and the powder mixed with amaranth flour to increase nutritional value. The flour can be used to make dough for baking.

For sausage, the crickets are pounded and mixed with additives to add flavour. Thereafter, they are mixed with special bread crumbs and then deep fried.

“It takes about three months to harvest crickets, but we are now working on a possibility of reducing that time to eight weeks,” says Prof Ayieko.
She has done cricket presentations in Italy, South Africa, Uganda and Tanzania.

When kept under refrigerators, the product’s shelf-life can extend to six months.

She is looking forward to processing biscuits for nursery kids since they are healthy for children.